


NervousArcher

by katychan666



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Coming Out, Fluff, Good!Asmodeus, Jock!Alec, Love Notes, M/M, Protective Magnus, Secret Messages, Shy Alec
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 06:20:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 76,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23346805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katychan666/pseuds/katychan666
Summary: Alec has a crush on Magnus and he has been secretly slipping love quotes into Magnus' locker. The mysterious person has definitely caught Magnus' attention, but there is only one problem - he doesn't know who they are from. That is until one day Alec drops his anonymous Instagram handle next to the quote - NervousArcher. Will Magnus finally find out who this Nervous Archer truly is?
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 447
Kudos: 568
Collections: Best Malec stories





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an old fanfic of mine that I decided to rewrite and turn it into Malec version. I hope you're all going to enjoy it ^^

I want to thank [just_another_lightwood_bane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_another_lightwood_bane) for this amazing moodboard <3.

* * *

Alec was wandering through the empty hallways of the school, headed for the place where the lockers were. The other students were still in classrooms, because it was still in the middle of the school day. Alec had just excused himself from the class, because he needed to do something. As he reached the lockers, he stopped and nervously took a small piece of paper from his pocket and read it, before putting it inside again and stepping close to Magnus' locker.

Magnus was a classmate of Alec’s and he has been crushing on him from the beginning of the school year. Then again, it was probably from way, way before, but it was at the beginning for that school year that he finally started accepting the fact that he was into guys. Deep down he’s known it for years, but he never actually dared to accept it himself. Alec was a _jock_ and many on the school thought that he was dating the head cheerleader - Lydia, but that wasn’t true. She tried to get with him a couple of times, but he turned her down every single time. Maybe it would be easier if he agreed to go out with her just for the sake of it, but he didn’t want to be the one to break her heart because he knew that it just wouldn’t work out.

Magnus, on the other hand, was a drama kid, but despite all of that he was pretty popular on the school. His popularity equaled Alec’s and Alec couldn’t help but to eventually fall for him. How could he not? Magnus was popular, but extremely down to Earth. He came from a rich family, just like Alec, and he was known to be pretty flexible when it came to dating. That was what Alec really admired in him. Unlike him, Magnus wasn’t afraid to show who he truly was and Alec pressed his lips together and glanced down at the note and then felt his cheeks reddening just a little bit. 

Since the school year had begun that year, he had been secretly slipping the love quotes into the other's locker. It was true that Magnus had a lot of fans and Alec wasn’t really comfortable of putting himself out there like that. He wasn’t out, he didn’t tell even the people that he was closest to - Izzy and Jace. No, nobody knew and he planned to keep it a secret, but at the same time… _he couldn’t stay away._ Even if he couldn’t really tell Magnus how he felt face to face, he still wanted Magnus to know about his feelings. Yes, it was very complicated, but Alec usually liked to complicate things for himself. 

Magnus was a romantic soul - Alec overheard him once talking to his best friend, Catarina, how much he liked poems and things like that, so Alec decided to do just that and gain his attention like that even if he remained anonymous. He didn’t really think of it much, Magnus probably wouldn’t even care, but he was mistaken. Once, he had seen Magnus reading one of his notes and seeing the big smile on his face was enough to make Alec feel both special and happy. _That was enough for him, knowing that he made Magnus smile was completely enough._ It was more than he could ever ask for, actually, so the love notes continued.

Alec stopped thinking for a second and then looked around, just to be sure that he was completely alone. _He didn’t want to be caught stuffing a piece of paper inside of Magnus’ locker!_ Once he was sure of that, he took the paper from his pocket again and quickly slipped into Magnus' locker through the vents. He could feel how his heart was beating faster as he did that. Partly, it was fear and another part was knowing that Magnus was going to read it once the next period was going to be over. As Alec was done with everything, he quickly made his way to the classroom and knocked on the door, waiting for the teacher to open it. 

"Dude, what took you so long?" asked Jace, who was bored out of his mind in the middle of the lesson. Alec looked at him and gave him an annoyed look. He didn’t understand why his brother needed to know _everything_ what he did, but then he took in a deep breath, reminding himself that he needed to stay calm and he just shook his head. 

‘’Toilet,’’ muttered Alec back and then went back to taking notes. Unlike for Jace, Alec was doing pretty well in school and Jace rolled his eyes. As they were brothers, the blonde knew Alec pretty well, so he knew when the other was lying to him and he then just shook his head, noticing how red Alec’s face was and things were just getting more and more confusing. ‘’Stop staring at me, you creep,’’ grumbled Alec.

‘’You’re lying,’’ said Jace and Alec flinched. That wasn’t the first time that Alec decided to mysteriously disappear in the middle of the lessons and he just pressed his lips together. "Don't dodge the question," said Jace and then took a closer look of Alec's face. "Why is your face so red?" he then asked and Alec quickly turned around and Jace’s eyes grew. ‘’Dude, were you with Lydia?’’ asked Jace and Alec didn’t reply for a long time. ‘’Hey, you can tell your brother all about it,’’ he said and Alec shook his head.

‘’Mind your own business, creep,’’ said Alec.

‘’You so were with Lydia!’’ pointed it out Jace and then scooted closer. ‘’How was it?’’

‘’For the last time, we are _not_ dating, Jace,’’ hissed Alec and his heart fell a little bit. Even if he was to tell Jace who he truly liked, he couldn’t really and he just took in a deep breath and tried to pay attention to the lesson. 

‘’Did I say anything about _dating_ ?’’ asked Jace and then shrugged. ‘’It couldn’t be just having a little bit of fun,’’ said Jace and then winked, trying to get Alec into a better mood, but all that he managed to do was to piss off Alec even more. ‘’Ugh, you’re so-’’ he started bitching, but the the professor finally had enough of it and Jace has just bought himself a week of detention. Alec grinned because he was pleased. _Good, that was hopefully going to teach Jace a lesson, though he was pretty sceptic about it._ But one could hope. 

* * *

As Magnus was done with classes for the day, he quickly made his way to his locker. He knew that another note was waiting for him there. The quotes that the person had been writing to him were very cheesy, but Magnus liked receiving them. It made him feel special. And it was such a refreshing thing to receive after the last relationship that he was in. Camille sucked out all of the happiness out of him and seeing someone going through so much trouble just to make him smile made him feel things. For a change, he felt special. He only wished that he knew from which person they were. He was very well aware of that he was pretty popular. However, this person caught the his attention the most. He wondered why they didn't want to reveal themself.. They were probably just very shy; was the answer that Magnus came up with.

He stopped in front of his locker and rubbed his palms together, taking a deep breath in. He hoped that there was a note waiting for him in the locker. As he opened the locker, a huge smile spread through his face when he saw a small piece of paper and he immediately took it into his hands, wondering what his secret admirer had wrote on it.

_Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,_

_While loving someone deeply gives you courage._

Magnus chuckled and quickly hid the paper into his pocket. He hadn't had the best day at school that day, but reading that made him feel better. He sighed, closed his locker and leaned on it, wondering how he should find out who that mysterious person was. As the read head was thinking, his friend came over to him and waved happily, noticing that Magnus was in a very good mood - ah, so another note came that day, huh. Catarina chuckled and then sighed happily. It was extremely cheesy and old-fashioned but also extremely adorable and Cat could see that his friend was already completely smitten with the person. 

"What's up?" asked Cat.

"Nothing much," he said and still had a smile on his face.Magnus had already told her all about his secret admirer, of course - that was the only thing that he would talk about. In the drama classes, among the regular classes, when they were hanging out outside the school - all the talk that Magnus could do was about this person and how he’d figure out who they were. 

"So, there was another message in your locker then," Cat said.

"Yeah," admitted Magnus and then showed the small paper to Cat. As Cat read it, she also smiled, finding the whole situation incredibly cute.

"They must like you a lot."

"I know… I just wish I knew who they were. It's been months since they started writing to me and yet they still don't want to tell me who they are," he said and then sighed as he read the note again.

* * *

After the period ended, Alec left the classroom with Jace and Izzy soon caught up to them. They came to the lockers and from the distance Alec could see that Magnus was reading his note. His heart jumped and, his cheeks bright pink. Although he felt nervous, he was also happy because Magnus was smiling and that was all that mattered to Alec really. He also noticed that he was talking to Cat about something and he was determined to find out about what. He stopped and turned to Jace and Izzy as they were both heading over to their lockers. The school has ended for the day and they couldn’t wait to go finally back home!

"You two can go ahead. I need to do something," muttered Alec.

‘’Really?’’ asked Jace and then glanced over at the side and noticed Lydia over at her locker and then he grinned and then winked. ‘’Oh, you’re going over to Lydia, huh? Don’t worry, dude, Iz and I will-’’ he started, but Izzy poked him into his sides with her elbow and then shook her head. Unlike for Jace, he had an idea or two what Alec was going through. Unlike him, she actually noticed things and she was pissed off with Jace.

‘’Jace, give it a rest.’’

‘’Did I do something wrong?’’ asked Jace innocently. 

‘’Yes,’’ said Alec and Izzy in unison and Alec chuckled softly when he saw the look on Jace’s face. ‘’You opened your mouth, that’s the first sign,’’ continued Izzy and Jace gave her an offended look.

‘’I didn’t think anything bad about it, I just-’’

‘’That’s the problem, you never _think,_ Jace,’’ hissed Izzy. ‘’Alec, I’m sorry, I’ll drag him away, you catch up with us later, okay?’’ asked Izzy and Alec nodded.

‘’Thanks,’’ he mumbled. _Thank god his sister was so understanding!_

"But you promised to start working on my new plans on-" whined Alecy. As the two of them left, Alec went over to Magnus’ locker, but still kept his distance. He was close enough to hear what Magnus and Catarina were talking about. Then he pulled out his phone and pretended that he was texting someone, while in the reality he was eavesdropping on Cat and Magnus.

"They’re probably just nervous and shy. You are a pretty popular," said Cat and smiled. 

Magnus sighed and put the paper back into his pocket. "You are right, I guess." Magnus then looked to his right and noticed Alec, but didn’t think of it too much.. He quickly shook his head, ignoring Alec and he turned back to his friend. ‘’That’s so adorable, they go through so much trouble,’’ he said and bit his lip.

‘’Remember you don’t know who they are,’’ reminded him Cat.

‘’Does it matter though?’’ he asked and then shrugged. ‘’Their quotes are completely adorable and they just make me smile so much. It’s been a while since anyone worked this hard to get my attention and let me just tell you, Cat, that they have my full attention,’’ he said and then hummed happily. ‘’It’s a fellow romantic soul - takes one to know one, Cat. And what if they’re my soulmate?!’’ asked Magnus happily and then looked at Catarina, who was cracking up.

When Alec realised that the two of them were talking about him, his heart started beating faster and his breathing became rapid. _His notes made Magnus’ days, they made Magnus’ day._ Magnus thought that they were soulmates! Alec was shaking all over and he was barely holding his phone in his hands. Out on the field, he was strong and courageous but when it came to Magnus he was always reduced into a stuttering mess. He couldn’t even _look_ at him without flushing. He was a mess, yes. He took in a deep breath and continued listening. 

"I wish there was a way for me to contact with them. It would be very cool if I had their phone number," said Magnus and then looked at Cat.

"And how do you expect to get their phone number?" asked Cat and she almost started laughing.

"I was just thinking about loud," said Magnus and clicked with his tongue. "They could write it down next to the note the next time or something like that." Magnus knew that it was impossible to get the person’ number so he sighed again and then frowned when Cat's smile widened.

"It’s been a while since I’ve seen you like this. You've really fallen for them already, right?"

‘’That’s a bit of a strong word, but,’’ said Magnus. There was a but and Alec internally screamed. ‘’I wouldn’t be opposed of going out with them, though,’’ he said and winked.

When Magnus said that, Alec's eyes widened and his heart almost jumped out of his chest. Magnus wanted to go out with him! Well not exactly him, Alec knew that. Alec was so excited that he dropped his phone. Alec cursed, quickly dropped it and then just quickly ran away to Jace and Isabelle, but he knew that he was noticed by the other two. . 

"I wonder what's wrong with him," commented Cat.

"Jocks," muttered Magnus. _Never had a good experiences with them!_

* * *

When Alec came home, he immediately went into his room and locked himself in. He threw himself onto the bed and hid his red face into his palms. His heart was still pounding as he couldn't get get Magnus's words out of his head. Alec knew that Magnus liked receiving his notes, but he had never thought that Magnus would like them that much to fall for the person who was sending them. He then sighed and hugged his pillow.

The fact that Magnus wanted to meet the person behind those notes what was making him even more nervous. If only it would be as simple as going up to him in person and telling him how he felt - there was more to it and he was nervously chewing on his lip and he shook his head. Yes, there was no way he could ever tell him in person! If anyone was about to find out, then- Alec felt his fear rising and he just shook his head. _That was out of options._ And he didn’t even know how Magnus would react if he knew it was him! Still, giving out his number couldn’t hurt anyone, right? Alec cursed under his breath and then glanced down. As he was pretty popular a lot of people had his number, so there was _no_ way. But he could create a completely anonymous Instagram handle, give Magnus the name of it and-

_It was possible!_

Alec’s heart jumped into his throat and he then swallowed, quickly grabbed his phone and quickly created a new profile, no picture no nothing and he then pressed his lips together. Of course he knew Magnus’ handle, but he couldn’t really just randomly add him and be like ‘’ _hey, it’s me!_ ’’ It would be too… Alec didn’t really feel courageous enough, but- If he gave Mangus the name of his handle on his next note to Magnus. Taking in a deep breath, Alec rubbed his palms together and then he nodded. _He could not resist._

Alec was walking around his bedroom, feeling more nervous than ever, but then he finally decided on it! The wish to get closer to Magnus was just too strong at the end. Alec sat down in front of his desk and wrote a short quote on a small paper.

_Love does not consist of gazing into each other,_

_But in looking outward together in the same direction._

He reread it a few times and then finally added his anonymous handle to it. **NervousArcher.** ‘’I hope Magnus gets it,’’ muttered Alec and then chuckled. Nervous archer, that he was and then he laughed softly, placing his hand on top of his chest and then nodded. Yes, it felt right. 

All that was left to do was to slip the paper into Magnus's locker.

* * *

_First quote used is by Lao Tzu_

_Second one : Antoine de Saint-Exupéry_


	2. Chapter 2

Magnus dragged himself out of the drama department they had at their school, feeling both physically and mentally exhausted. Their drama professor was extra hard on him that day and he was completely drained. All that he wanted to do was to go back home and do nothing for the rest of the week. And the fact that the love quotes and notes stopped coming also sucked. Maybe that's why he couldn’t properly focus on the drama club - well, he couldn’t focus in classes either. It was just… he had so many questions. Did he do something wrong? Because he couldn’t really remember. Maybe the person wasn’t interested anymore. He sighed and then headed for his locker. He knew that probably it was empty again, but he needed to make sure.

A part of him didn’t really want to open the locker, just to find it empty again. Those little notes were the only thing that kept him in a good mood after the break up with Camille. It was in the past and he was finally getting over her - this new person made him feel all fluffy and fuzzy inside and then just like that it was taken away from him and he just pressed his lips together, feeling sorry for himself, but he just had to wonder. Did this person also get tired of him so quickly? Magnus’ mood was sinking and he just shook his head, stuffing his hands into his pockets and then sighed, his loud sigh being loudly heard throughout the hallways. Since it was way after classes most of the other students were already back home and he looked around the school a little bit. It was kind of creepy now that he thought about it and he pressed his lips together. Maybe it would be for the best if he just hurried up and go back home. 

Magnus had a really long day and after such a long day, the love quote in his locker would be really great, but it was probably for the best if he just stopped getting his hopes up. He then sighed again and then shook his head. He was moping around a lot and he was getting on the nerves of his friends, Ragnor and Raphael especially and he snickered. But, well, he couldn’t help it and he just shook his head, glancing up and he noticed that he had already made his way all the way to his locker. He grabbed onto his backpack and then decided to just go for it, open the locker and what would happen, would happen. 

Magnus felt his heart hammering against his ribcage when he unlocked the locker and he then just shook his head. ‘’I’m being pathetic,’’ he muttered to himself, but he still felt hopeful? Magnus took a deep breath before opening the door of his locker, closing his eyes and then reached inside of his locker. He didn’t dare to open his eyes, keeping his breath in and then he started feeling around it. Magnus’ hand ran into something that could be like a folded piece of paper and his eyes snapped open again, glancing down and his jaw dropped when he saw that he was right about it!

To his luck, there was a piece of paper waiting for him there. Magnus felt how his heartbeat raised and he quickly took the note into his hands and read it. ‘’Love does no consist of gazing into each other,’’ he read and his smile was growing. ‘’But in looking outward together in the same direction,’’ he said and then chuckled. ‘’That’s quite right,’’ he said and then glanced down. ‘’Nervous archer?’’ he then read out loud and narrowed his eyes. ‘’I wonder what that all’s about,’’ muttered Magnus and then rubbed the back of his head. Ah, it didn’t matter, what mattered was that the person was back and he was so happy that he could actually run to the top of the highest mountain and he then started laughing. ‘’Ah, must be my lucky day, the light is back in my life,’’ he said and then quickly tucked the paper into his backpack. ‘’Thank god, they’re not tired of me,’’ he muttered to himself.  _ His abandonment issues really showed.  _

* * *

‘’Cat, you’re never gonna believe what happened,’’ said Magnus as he was sitting in his room, too excited to do anything else but to tell her friend what happened on his way back from school. He was too, too excited that he didn’t even say to his father after coming back from school. He headed straight to his room much to the disapproval on Asmodeus’ face, but there wasn’t much that the man could do - Magnus was a teenager now and he was pretty well-behaved compared to what he was hearing from other parents, so he didn’t butt in too much. 

‘’Judging by how happy you sound just now,’’ said Catarina on the other side of the phone call and Magnus could feel her smiling. ‘’There was another note, finally?’’ he asked and Magnus grabbed onto the phone and then held in his breath. 

‘’How did you know?’’ he asked.

‘’Given that you’ve been moping around ever since the notes stopped coming,’’ said Catarina and chuckled. ‘’And hearing you being in such a good mood now - it is more than obvious what happened,’’ said Catarina and Magnus then grinned. Now that she put it like that, it made sense yes and he then just shook his head and threw himself onto the bed and then just happily hummed. 

‘’How insufferable was I during the last few days, Cat?’’ asked Magnus and Cat chuckled.

‘’It wasn’t  _ that _ bad,’’ she said.

‘’Raphi had a meltdown yesterday according to Ragnor,’’ said Magnus and Catarina started laughing loudly because yes, that did happen. Raphael was never really the most patient person, so hearing Magnus talk about his issues over and over again got to the poor teen. 

‘’You know how dramatic Raphi gets,’’ said Catarina. ‘’Don’t worry about it, he’ll come around,’’ said Catarina and Magnus started laughing. ‘’So, what kind of a quote was this time?’’ asked Catarina.

‘’Oh, it was another very romantic,’’ said Magnus and then turned onto his stomach. ‘’It’s how love means about looking into the same direction, you know? Towards the future and all of that. Cat!’’ suddenly said and as catapulted up into sitting position. ‘’Does that mean that they’re interested into a future with me?’’ asked Magnus and Cat was again laughing.

‘’I mean, yeah?’’

‘’If only I knew who they were,’’ muttered Magnus and then took in a deep breath. ‘’But for now, I’ll be fine with just this. I’m glad that they’re back. I missed them.’’

* * *

'’And now you have to multiply those two together,’’ said Alec, who was in his room with his sister as he was helping her with homework. She was very smart and usually a straight A student, but it was Math that she had problems with. Luckily, Alec was pretty good at it, so he helped out as much as he could. ‘’Yeah, just like that and now you get the correct number,’’ he said proudly and Izzy let out a happy squeal because she was trying to figure out that for the past few hour on her own. Just ten minutes with Alec and she was able to understand it perfectly fine. 

‘’Thank you, Alec, you saved my life. Again,’’ she said and then leaned back in her chair. ‘’You should totally be a teacher, you know,’’ said Isabelle and Alec shuddered because just the thought of that scared the crap out of him.  _ He couldn’t be a teacher, dealing with people in general sucked, not to mention dealing with teenagers or kids!  _ Ugh, no thank you, he thought and just shook his head.

‘’No way, I would probably go crazy. Kids are annoying,’’ said Alec and Izzy started laughing.

‘’You’d be good at it though,’’ said Izzy and shrugged. ‘’Or maybe just our professors are crap and explaining all of this stuff,’’ she said and then just crossed her arms on top of her chest. ‘’Still don’t get why they’re teaching us all of this crap, though,’’ she said. ‘’It’s not like I’m gonna use any of this when I’m older,’’ said Izzy and Alec cracked up.

‘’So, you wanna tell me that you  _ won’t _ become a mathematician, Iz?’’ teased Alec and Isabelle narrower her eyes. ‘’I had such hopes for you, sis,’’ he said and Isabelle only laughed it off, shaking her head, but she was glad to see that her brother was in a better mood. These days he was spending a lot of time locked up in his room and even if he was out, he didn’t really seem like he was  _ present.  _ He was always deep in thoughts and Izzy had an idea what could be pestering her older brother, but she never wanted to pry too much, so she didn’t ask. Maybe she should have.

‘’Alec?’’ asked Izzy.

‘’Yeah?’’ asked Alec as he was checking on his phone. Yeah, he was  _ constantly _ checking up on his phone that day because he was waiting for Magnus to follow him on Instagram. That was if he was going to be still interested. The thing was, Alec took way too long to give that note over to Magnus, but that was just because he was nervous and he needed time to finally be sure that he was okay about it. It was anonymous, but still, Alec worried. Maybe Magnus could easily find out that it was him. Or maybe Magnus wasn’t even going to like talking to him like that. Also he didn’t want to get caught - Alec had a lot on his mind, but that day he finally made the decision and he slipped the note to Magnus, hoping that it was going to work. Still, it’s been hours and Magnus still didn’t follow him. 

‘’Is everything okay?’’ asked Izzy.

‘’Huh?’’ snapped Alec. ‘’Y-yeah, of course, w-why do you-’’ he started stuttering because Izzy caught him off guard and he just tried to pretend that everything was okay, but his sister could see that something was on his mind. Isabelle clasped her hands together and made a little pause. 

‘’I just,’’ she said and then contemplated again, but decided to proceed asking anyway. ‘’I just noticed that lately it seems that a lot is on your mind,’’ she said and Alec glanced down. ‘’Maybe, I don’t know, maybe I’m looking into it too much?’’ she asked and Alec didn’t respond. ‘’I mean, I don’t wanna pry too much, I really don’t, but I just worry and if-if you wish to talk about this you can come to me, you know?’’ she asked, trying to show Alec that she was there for him.

‘’Iz,’’ sighed Alec and felt a lump forming in his throat.

‘’I just want you to know,’’ she said and then made another pause. ‘’If there’s things that you feel you can’t talk about with mom and dad, I will understand, Alec,’’ she said seriously and placed her hand on top of his shoulder. Alec looked down and he could feel his heart beating closer.  _ He could feel it on the tip of his tongue, he wanted to tell Izzy what was troubling him, but in the end…  _ he couldn’t. It was too soon, he wasn’t even too sure of it himself and he just shrugged it off, putting on a smile. 

‘’I’ll keep it in mind, thanks,’’ said Alec.

‘’Yeah?’’ asked Izzy, worried.

‘’Yeah, but you shouldn’t worry,’’ he said. ‘’I’m fine.’’

* * *

‘’There just one thing I don’t understand,’’ said Magnus to himself. He was still in his room, just back from the dinner and he was trying to solve the puzzle of the  **NervousArcher.** ‘’It’s… it’s gotta mean something,’’ he said and then rolled onto his side and then rubbed the back of his neck, thinking again. ‘’You really are making me work for it, huh?’’ he asked and then chuckled. ‘’Luckily I love a challenge,’’ he said to himself and then continued to think about it. The more that he thought about it, the more it seemed that it could be a nickname of some sort. Or- ‘’I am an idiot,’’ he said and slapped himself across his forehead and then shook his head. ‘’It has to be somehow connected to their social media account, it has to,’’ he said and then crossed his legs, sitting up. The only problem was - which?

‘’Nervous archer, nervous archer,’’ said Magnus, whispering and then tried to search them up. A few tries and he managed to find a nervous archer on Instagram. The profile was privated and they had zero followers, so he sent them a follow request, laying back down onto his bed and he then waited. They had a profile picture, but it was a picture of a bow and arrows, so it didn’t really give Magnus much to work with. The only thing he learned was that they liked archery, which was exciting and he grinned. ‘’God, I wish that’s you,’’ he muttered to himself, biting on his nails and he couldn’t glue his eyes away from the screen of his phone. He was on edge!

It happened during dinner for Alec when his phone buzzed and he immediately took the phone from his pocket and his eyes widened when he saw  **_magnus.bane sent you a request._ ** Alec screamed internally and he then glanced up at the others around the table. Suddenly he wasn’t hungry anymore and all he wanted to do was to go to his room and chat with Magnus. His heart was beating fast, he was completely and utterly excited, trying not to smile too widely and he then glanced over to his dad, who wasn’t too impressed to see his son with the phone at the table. 

‘’Alec, no phone at the table,’’ said Robert and Alec quickly put it back to his hiding place. 

‘’I, uh,’’ he said and stood up. ‘’I’ll be off to my room, I, uh, I have-’’

‘’Honey, are you okay?’’ asked Maryse. ‘’You barely touched the food,’’ she said as Alec was already standing up, ready in the sprint position as he wanted to be alone as soon as possible. 

‘’I’m not really hungry.’’

‘’Are you feeling ill?’’ she asked, her eyes growing and Alec shook his head.

‘’No, I just, well,’’ he said and then glanced over to his little brother Max. ‘’I kind of sneaked a big slice of your pumpkin pie into my room before when you were helping with Max do his homework,’’ he said, which was not a lie, but was also not the reason why he wasn’t hungry.  _ Magnus has followed him _ and he was totally freaking out. 

‘’Alec,’’ she said and then laughed softly. ‘’I mean it can’t be helped,’’ she said because she knew how much Alec loved her pie. ‘’I’ll let you go this once, but if it happens again, you’ll be the one cooking the dinner next time,’’ she said and Alec grinned, apologised and then excused himself from the dining room, laughing when he saw father rambling. 

‘’Teenagers, these days, all they care about is their phones and virtual friends,’’ he said and Maryse was laughing.

‘’Now, now, honey, now you just sound like a grandpa,’’ she teased and Robert stopped complaining, but Alec smiled when he heard all of them laughing. Yeah, his parents were pretty great.

* * *

Alec accepted Magnus’ request as soon as he was safely locked inside of his room and he was shaking all over. He was nervous as hell, that he was - he was  _ nervous as hell.  _ His heart was about to leave his body, jump out of his chest. He needed to sit down and then he breathed. ‘’Magnus followed me,’’ he said quietly and then looked at his phone. ‘’Crap, I better say something, right?’’ he asked and then opened up the direct messages, but he came up with  _ nothing.  _ Just a casual  _ hi _ , or something more romantic? Alec didn’t know, so he was just staring at the phone and slapping himself mentally. He. Sucked. 

Magnus smiled broadly when he saw that the person accepted his request and he was feeling his heartbeat getting faster as well. Okay, he needed to say something, but still stay cool. He checked up on their profile just in case to see if they had any pictures, but they had no posts and he sighed sadly. So, they wanted their identity to stay completely hidden. Magnus had an idea or two why that might be and he then just decided to write them a private text and see where that was going to lead him.

**magnus.bane:** Hello, Nervous Archer. You’re the one that has been sneaking those love quotes into my locker, right? I hope I got this right because it took me embarrassingly long time to figure out what that NervousArcher was supposed to mean. If that’s you then I am super glad that you decided to give out your Instagram handle to me. I’ve been wanting to get to know you better for a while now.

Alec gasped when he saw that Magnus sent him a message and he then took in a deep breath, reading it slowly and he then smiled and took another deep breath in. ‘’Okay, breathe, Alec, make him think you’re an actual sane human being,’’ he said and then started typing back a message. Magnus was on the edge when he saw that the other person was typing… and they were typing for quite a long time!

**NervousArcher:** Hey, Magnus. Yes, this is me. I’m sorry I’m nervous and awkward. I don’t know what to say. Please don’t think I’m weird.

Magnus couldn’t stop smiling. The nervous archer, was, well… living true to their name. Nervous they were, shy. Magnus chuckled. ‘’You’re adorable, archer,’’ he commented and then made a little pause. Yes, he needed to take things slowly, not rush things and he then pressed his lips together and then started typing again. As soon as Alec saw that Magnus was typing again, he was nervous - he hoped that Magnus wasn’t going to think of him as weird or worse!

**magnus.bane:** Oh, I’m so glad it’s you. Imagine this reaching someone else, that would be awkward! I don’t think you’re weird, and I see you’re living up to your name, archer ;). Though there’s no need to be so nervous. It’s okay. And I’m just so glad that you’ve finally decided to approach me more personally, you don’t know how much I wanted to talk to you in person.

Alec took in a deep breath and then chewed on his lip, writing back a reply.

**NervousArcher:** I’m sorry it took me such a long time. I was really nervous, I mean, I’m not… I don’t know. I’m not really good at stuff like that. 

**magnus.bane:** You sure seem like you know what you’re doing though. Those quotes really were something else. Totally sweet and cute, thank you! Always brightened my days for sure <3

‘’A heart emoji,’’ muttered Alec to himself and placed his cold hands against his cheeks.

**NervousArcher:** I’m glad you liked them!

**magnus.bane:** So, Archer, tell me a little bit about yourself? 

And that was when Alec froze, his hands trembling and he dropped his phone.  _ Of course, it made sense for Magnus to want to get to know him better, but Alec was just too… ugh.  _ He didn’t think this far and he was shaking his head because he didn’t know what to reply. Magnus, on the other hand, was looking forward to the reply, but after he saw that the text was read, but that the other wasn’t responding, he began to worry. Maybe he asked too much? He rubbed the back of his neck and he then started thinking as he didn’t want to push it too much. It was clear that the other wanted to be keep their identity as a secret for the time being, but-

**magnus.bane:** Okay, hey, it’s okay. I see you don’t want to reveal to me who you are quite yet and I completely respect that. It’s okay. If you don’t mind me asking, what are your prefered pronouns? And it’s completely okay if you’re not comfortable with telling me.

**NervousArcher:** He/him.

Magnus then took in a deep breath and nodded; that could explain one thing. Maybe it was a guy that wasn’t completely out yet and that much he understood. He understood very well how stressful it all was because it was for him before he finally came out to everyone around him and he wasn’t going to pry too much into it. But he understood the person and he just nodded, sighing and then he laid down onto his bed and bit his lip. ‘’Take it easy, no hard questions,’’ he said to himself.

**magnus.bane:** Thank you for telling me.

**NervousArcher:** You’re always so kind. 

Alec kind of sent that in the spur of the moment, but it made Magnus smile and he couldn’t stop smiling. Happily sighing, he rolled onto his side and then just thought about for a second what he should write next. Right, something easy, no hard questions. He didn’t want to chase the Archer away.

**magnus.bane:** How was your day? :)

**NervousArcher:** Oh, pretty okay. School was boring, especially history. Yours?

**magnus.bane:** Started off as bad, really bad. I didn’t do so well in drama club, the old man yelled at me in front of the whole class for not paying attention. I couldn’t, I was thinking of you. Your notes suddenly stopped coming and I was so stressed. But now I’m doing much better! I mean, I think this just made my whole day… no my whole year!

Alec was laughing softly and for a moment he forgot about all of the problems - he could talk with Magnus normally. He was glad he didn’t pry too much into who he was. That was a plus and Alec sighed happily.

**NervousArcher:** I’m sorry! I was plucking up my courage! It was stressful af! 

**magnus.bane:** You. Are. Adorable. <3

Alec wasn't used to being flirted at and as soon as he realised that Magnus was trying to flirt with him, his cheeks reddened and he placed his cold hands against his hot cheeks. Still, the smile on his face stayed and he was just… giving Magnus his Instagram handle was the best decision he ever made.

**NervousArcher:** Are you flirting with me?

Magnus chuckled - this guy was too adorable to he actually true and he bit his lip.

**magnus.bane:** Yes, yes I am. That doesn't make you feel uncomfortable, right?

**NervousArcher:** No.

**magnus.bane:** Good. And you may flirt back all you want. The more flirting, the better.

Alec wanted to, but he was crap at it. And he wasn't used to being hit on by a  _ guy _ that he liked! He never flirted back with anyone and this was the first time that he was attempting flirting with a guy. Magnus worried about the silence of his Archer.

**magnus.bane:** You still here, Archer?

**NervousArcher:** I've never flirted with a guy before or was hit on by one. I'm not really sure what I'm doing here.

"He's so innocent," muttered Magnus and bit his lip. 

**magnus.bane:** Listen, I don't really know what I'm doing either. I'm nervous as hell right now because I don't want to mess this up. I'm so. I don't know I'm a mess because I'm really into you and I just… I don't know.

Alec chuckled and then bit his lip.

**NervousArcher:** You're adorable when you ramble.

**magnus.bane:** Very good first try on flirting. I'm blushing.

**NervousArcher:** No way!

**magnus.bane:** I am. Look, proof!

To that Magnus attached a photo of him peeking from his pillow, only his eyes visible and it was the cutest thing Alec has ever seen. Alec has never double tapped faster and harder than he did that picture and he couldn't look away. "Adorable," heard himself say Alec and Magnus smiled when he saw that Archer liked his photo.

**magnus.bane:** Why the "archer" though? Are you into archery?

**NervousArcher:** Yes. I love it actually.

**magnus.bane:** Oh, that's interesting. Must have a pretty strong grip there, huh? ;)

Alec's jaw dropped when he read that message and he need a while to recover. Because Archer was taking a while to reply, Magnus wondered what he said wrong and he read his message again -  _ shit.  _ He didn't mean it like that! Well, he did, but-

**magnus.bane:** I am sorry, that was inappropriate!

Alec surprised himself even with his reply.

**NervousArcher:** Magnus, I've been robbed off of this my whole life. You may get as inappropriate as you want, I'm game. I'm finally living my life, so bring it on!

Magnus started laughing loudly.

**magnus.bane:** You're a gem, Archer. A true gem.

Alec has never been this happy.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a Saturday afternoon and apparently Jace thought it would be an awesome idea to be practicing. Alec didn’t really agree, but he still followed his brother over to the gym. Even so, he didn’t really do much. He was sitting on the bench and spent all of the time talking to Magnus. It’s been a few days since he has finally gave Magnus his Instagram handle and the two of them were constantly chatting with each other. Alec had a feeling that he had gotten to know the other pretty well and he had to admit that he kept falling for the guy even more. He was happy that Magnus didn't ask him any too personal questions, but at the same time it didn’t really feel fair because Magnus told him a lot about himself, yet Alec didn’t really talk much about himself. Magnus never complained about it, but Alec just felt bad about it. It just didn’t seem fair, but at the same time he was still afraid of the fact that Magnus might figure it out, who he was chatting with. 

On the other hand, Alec was still sending little love quotes to Magnus over direct messages because he knew how much Magnus liked them in the first place and they still cheered Mangus up. The other was very happy to receive the love quotes and he was just smitten with his Archer even if he didn’t really know much about him. Alec sighed and then glanced around and saw Jace warming up and Alec just wrinkled his nose because he really wasn’t in the mood. He loved working out, but at the moment he was deep in conversation with Magnus and he really didn’t want to say goodbye yet, sighing sadly and then he clicked with his tongue. Well, maybe if he pretended that he didn’t see Jace then the blonde wouldn’t annoy him.  _ Hopefully.  _ Alec bit his lip and then smiled when his phone buzzed again. Alec unlocked his phone and then perked up when he read the new message.

**magnus.bane:** So, as it is the weekend, what are your plans, Archer?

Alec rubbed the back of his neck and then thought about what to write and he then bit his lip and then took in a deep breath, trying not to smile too widely. The thing was that Jace was getting more and more suspicious about Alec texting all of the time lately and he didn’t really appreciate it because Jace was annoying. He loved his brother, but lately he was insufferable and he just grumbled because he could see that Jace was looking at him again and he then rolled his eyes and tried to ignore his annoying gaze, but he could feel his eyes on him and it was making him feel annoyed. Luckily, one glance at the text from Magnus and he was able to completely forget all about the annoying Jace over there. 

**NervousArcher:** I’m spending some quality time with my brother. I feel like he’s jealous because I’m paying more attention to my phone than him.

Alec chuckled and then happily waited for another message back from Magnus, which came back pretty quickly and he cheered up and then chuckled again, trying not to  _ giggle _ as he knew that he would get more weirded out glanced from Jace, who was truly acting jealous, he wasn’t lying. He didn’t get it and he just sighed. 

**magnus.bane:** Aw, you should pay attention to your brother, Archer. I don’t want your brother to be jealous of me ;). Must be nice having a brother, huh? I’m an only child and it really gets boring at times. 

**NervousArcher:** Eh, define ‘’nice’’. He drives me crazy at times, he’s really a pain in the ass especially lately. But well. Anyway, what are your plans for the day?

“Alec, will you come and join me or are you planning to sit there all day?” grumbled Jace and Alec looked up at him and then clicked with his tongue. “We must get you in shape, dude, the season’s begun and coach won’t be too happy if you start slacking off,” said Jace and Alec quickly locked his phone because he didn’t want to see Jace who he was texting. Alec rolled his eyes again and he was getting more and more annoyed, to the point of walking out and leaving Jace there completely alone.

“Projecting much?” asked Alec and threw his phone into the backpack. He was going to apologise to Magnus later for suddenly disappearing. He really didn’t have the time at the moment and Alec glanced at Jace again, who was now just impatiently standing there. Jace was projecting a little bit, because it was  _ him _ that the coach scolded the last time, but still! Alec needed to get in shape as well and he was just trying to help him out! He didn’t know why Alec was starting to shut him off like that lately! It was like they couldn’t get along anymore and it hurt, kind of. Jace knew his brother and he knew that something was up, but Alec didn’t want to share what was happening. “Happy?” said Alec through his teeth as he was standing and Jace nodded.

“Who are you texting all the time anyway?” asked Jace curiously.

“None of your business, Jace,” said Alec and walked past Jace, starting to warm up and trying to burn off his annoyance in a productive way. 

“If it’s Lydia tell me, I get it. Clary and I-”

“Enough with the Lydia stuff, Jace, we’re just  _ friends _ now give it a rest,” snapped Alec because this whole thing was getting ridiculous. “It’s like you're obsessed with her, date her yourself then and leave me alone,” grumbled Alec and then just turned away from Jace, trying his best to  _ breathe.  _ Right, breathing should work, meditation! Not really, but then he remembered of the cute picture Magnus sent him the other day - peeking from the pillow and he was immediately in a better mood. Unluckily for him, Jace was right there to spoil his mood again and Alec was on the edge, he truly was. His hand was itching and he was  _ this _ close to smacking his brother. Ugh. He regretted taking pity on him and going down to the gym with him. 

* * *

Magnus was happily humming as he was walking down the street, walking down to the gym. Ah, yes, he needed to work out a little bit more or his drama teacher was going to smack him one day. He needed better stamina to keep up his dancing and singing at the same time, so he needed a lot to make up for from the last time, so the gym it was. Still, his phone was out and he grinned when he saw that Archer has sent him another text and he quickly read it, happily grinning. 

**NervousArcher:** Eh, define ‘’nice’’. He drives me crazy at times, he’s really a pain in the ass especially lately. But well. Anyway, what are your plans for the day?

Magnus’ smile was getting ever wider because the other was adorable indeed. He didn’t know much about Archer, but he knew that he was ridiculous and funny, he always made him laugh. Adorably funny and he was glad that they kept in touch, the love quotes still coming. Magnus didn’t want to ask too many personal questions because he didn’t want to scare the other away, but at the same time, he still wished that they could somehow get even closer? But what he did know about Archer, he liked. A romantic soul, but also grumpy, never towards him though. And apparently he had a brother, maybe some other siblings and Magnus smiled ever wider. Then he wrote back a reply.

**magnus.bane:** I’m hitting up the gym, on my way there right now. Not a big fan of working out, but if I don’t do it my drama teacher is going to kill me, lol. 

Magnus made a turn to the right and then glanced up - he was there. The gym. He shuddered and then took in a deep breath. Ugh. He wished that one of his friends came with him, but all of them were busy. How funny that all of them had time when he mentioned mall, but as soon as gym was mentioned, all of them were “busy”. He snickered and then he just checked up on his phone as he stepped inside - he needed emotional support from his Archer to get through this!

**magnus.bane:** You know, I asked my friends to come with me, but all of them are ‘’busy’’. Busy my ass! All of them are immediately game if I mention the mall, but no, for the gym they all leave me. Poor, poor me. I need something to get through this. Maybe another love quote? Oh, how about a heart emoji? Anything would do! I need your emotional support, Archer!

Magnus sent that and then finally stepped inside and then checked up on his phone again and he didn’t get anything back. Maybe the other was searching for a quote! Hopeful, Magnus decided to go ahead and change, taking in a deep breath and he was devastated when he still didn’t have any new texts from Archer and he pouted.  _ He left him too! _ Archer probably had a good reason, he knew that - probably that annoying brother - but he was still sad and he decided to throw himself a little pity party.

**magnus.bane:** The whole universe hates me!

The universe  _ did _ hate him because the gym was packed and the only free room that was still free was filled with jocks. Well, only two of them, but they were both from his school and he whined. It wasn’t the first time he saw someone from their school there - the gym was popular in their area where they lived, but still he was pretty annoyed to see the two guys from  _ his  _ class there and he just whined because he and jocks never got along. They were cocky, stuck up and they were going to laugh at his attempts in working out, he just knew it. Still, he dragged himself inside,  _ forcing _ himself and then he just took in a deep breath, trying to make himself as invisible as possible. Because Alec and Jace were in the middle of a heated argument, nobody really saw him coming in.

“Fuck off, Jace, I know how to do push ups just fine,” grumbled Alec and then marched over to his bag, tempted to take out his phone, but he took out his water bottle instead and then started chugging down water.

“Again going to your phone?!”

“Oh, my fucking God, who made you my father?” asked Alec and then stood up. “ _ I _ can do what I want, you’re not the boss of me, Jesus fucking Christ,” said Alec and then started massaging his temples. Alec was pissed off, he hasn’t been this pissed off in a long time! Taking in a deep breath, Alec just shook his head and then tried to ignore Jace, but it was impossible. 

‘’You’ve been acting weird lately, Alec,’’ said Jace and then crossed his arms on top of his chest. ‘’I’m just trying to understand what’s happening with you, man,’’ said Jace and Alec took in a deep breath and then bit his lip.  _ There was no way that Jace could ever understand what was going on with him.  _ Jace had it so easy - he had a cute girlfriend, who was a cheerleader, he was popular. He had it all. And for Alec, it was a lot more complicated.

‘’You can’t understand,’’ said Alec and Jace arched a brow. ‘’You  _ can’t _ understand, so just leave it be,’’ said Alec and then pressed his lips together. 

‘’That’s not true,’’ said Jace and then placed his hands on top of his sides. ‘’I know what you think of me, that I’m pretty stupid, but you know, I’m not a complete idiot,’’ said Jace and then glanced at Alec. He was quite hurt that Alec was shutting him out like that all of the sudden and he didn’t understand why - was it something that he did wrong? Alec looked away because he didn’t mean it like that even if it did come out like it and he just took in a deep breath. ‘’At least try me, I’m not going to-’’

‘’I can’t,’’ mumbled Alec and felt his heart beating faster. ‘’I can’t,’’ he said and then shook his head. ‘’Sorry,’’ muttered Alec and that seemed to made Jace snap because he turned around, grabbed his things and started marching towards the door. ‘’Jace, where the hell are you-’’

‘’Shower, I’m not in the mood to train anymore, I’m going home,’’ said the other teen and then just walked out. Alec took in a deep breath and then looked down.  _ He was in a bad mood.  _ He didn’t mean to be like that to Jace because he knew that Jace cared for him, but he was just… when he was put on spot like this, all of the walls started closing up and he became too defensive about things. It was only Magnus that he was comfortable to open up to and he sighed sadly. He would have to talk with Jace after he’d get back home, which he really didn’t want to. 

Speaking of Magnus, when Alec finally glanced up and looked around the room he saw  _ Magnus.  _ At first he thought that he was just seeing things, but no… Magnus was _ there.  _ In the gym! Alec’s face turned  _ really _ red and his heart started beating faster, much faster, feeling his hands getting sweaty and he then took in a deep breath. Magnus was there quite far away, stretching and Alec was  _ staring.  _ He was staring way too much and he had to force himself to look away when Magnus bent down and he shuddered.  _ Fuck.  _ Panicking, Alec quickly grabbed his phone and read Magnus’ last texts, which he couldn’t before when he was arguing with Jace. 

**magnus.bane:** I’m hitting up the gym, on my way there right now. Not a big fan of working out, but if I don’t do it my drama teacher is going to kill me, lol. 

**magnus.bane:** You know, I asked my friends to come with me, but all of them are ‘’busy’’. Busy my ass! All of them are immediately game if I mention the mall, but no, for the gym they all leave me. Poor, poor me. I need something to get through this. Maybe another love quote? Oh, how about a heart emoji? Anything would do! I need your emotional support, Archer!

**magnus.bane:** The whole universe hates me!

‘’I’m despicable human being,’’ said Alec and then looked down and he was biting into his lip, nervously trying to think of something to do - what to do, what to do, what to do?! Alec took in a deep breath and then decided to write a quick reply to Magnus because he wanted to cheer him up - he didn’t want Magnus to be sad. At least he wanted to make someone happy if he managed to completely crush Jace. 

**NervousArcher:** I am so sorry! I couldn’t text back, I was busy! But it’s totally unfair that none of your friends were in the mood to join you in the gym. I’m here to be your emotional support, always!

Alec didn’t send yet, until he added a little heart emoji in the end, then he quickly pressed send. He threw his phone back into his bag, pretended that he was resting while in reality he was watching Magnus. He couldn’t help himself and he perked up when he saw Magnus going over to his stuff and his eyes widened when he saw Magnus taking out his phone. As soon as Magnus heard his phone going off, he literally ran over to his bag and his smile widened when he saw that he had a new message from Archer. He opened it up and read it, his heart melting when he saw that there was a heart emoji in the end.

‘’I was blessed,’’ said Magnus and looked back down onto his phone. Alec saw the size of Magnus’ smile and he then quickly looked away -  _ Magnus was happy.  _ Alec felt his heart hammering even faster and he wanted to go over and say hi, but at the same time he didn’t really want to engage and make things awkward. So - staring from afar it was! Magnus decided that he had enough workout for the time being and he quickly replied back.

**magnus.bane:** Ah, I feel better already! Did the jealous brother need you? ;)

**NervousArcher:** Don’t let me get started on him - so bossy and just too nosy. He just doesn’t understand me. I… never mind. I just have a lot on my mind and him sticking his nose into it doesn’t really help the situation. 

Magnus frowned and then smiled.

**magnus.bane:** Anything you want to talk to me about?

Alec shuddered and then his fingers started shaking because he wanted to ask Magnus many things - mainly about his coming out, but at the very last moment he backed out. But before Alec got the chance to write back, Jace was back again and he was even more pissed off. ‘’Alec, we’re going home,’’ announced the blonde and Alec’s annoyance was back.

Alec took off his sneakers and he sent one flying over to Jace. He missed, barely, but still it made him feel better. ‘’Go suck on it, Jace!’’ said Alec loudly, Magnus hearing it as well and he glanced up and saw Alec over there having a meltdown. Alec noticed that Magnus had seen him, so he quickly collected all of his things and literally ran out of the room. Magnus arched a brow and then chuckled.

‘’Seems like my Archer isn’t the only one with a bossy and annoying brother, huh,’’ commented Magnus and shook his head. He never liked that Jace guy too much.

* * *

It was Thursday evening and Magnus was again in his room, locked inside - he has been doing this more and more lately. Chatting with Archer in his room and he didn’t really bother going out that much anymore, which made his father worried, but at the same time, he was glad that his teenage son wasn’t going out partying as much as the others. Magnus was completely infatuated with the other teen - he has gotten to know a bit more about him, even though his identity still stayed a mystery. They were the same age, which made him worry which of the guys was it - it could be even someone from  _ his _ class and he was stressed. Not in a bad way though and he smiled. Also, he knew that the Archer had a pretty big family;  _ three  _ siblings and Magnus smiled when he got a new picture from Archer. Currently he was listing his favourite bows to him and was sending him pictures to go along with his explanation.

**magnus.bane:** You really do have a lot of knowledge when it comes to types of bows, huh? ;)

Alec smiled, but then as he read the text again, he was catapulted up into sitting position and he then rubbed the back of his head - was that a polite way of Magnus telling him that he was getting bored of his rambling? Alec pressed his lips together and then took in a deep breath. It’s been more than a week since he and Magnus started talking in private like this and Alec was slowly opening up.  _ Slowly, _ but gradually and he took in a deep breath and then he chewed on his lower lip. He decided to ask Magnus about it.

**NervousArcher:** Is that a polite way of telling me that you’re getting bored of my rambling?

Magnus chuckled and then shook his head.

**magnus.bane:** Not at all - I think it’s adorable, please carry on. I don’t mind, I feel like I’m learning something every day with you <3

Alec huffed and then smiled, feeling relieved. It was just unbelievable how free he felt when he got to talk to Magnus like this. He was the most himself when it was just the two of them talking and he bit his lip. The mask of being anonymous gave him the strength to show his true colours and he held in his breath - maybe that quote was right, huh? Alec didn’t really know it himself, but he was already typing it all down and then he hit sent.

**NervousArcher:** Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.

Magnus’ eyes widened a little bit, but then he smiled softly and straightened himself up.

**magnus.bane:** Oscar wilde today, huh?

**NervousArcher:** Oh, you recognise it!

**magnus.bane:** My drama teacher would kill me if I didn’t, Archer. 

**NervousArcher:** Lol.

**NervousArcher:** But, it’s true. 

**magnus.bane:** Meaning?

**NervousArcher:** I’m more myself with you than with anyone else. But, I’m hiding behind an anonymous nickname, therefore there is a mask that allows me to be myself freely and without any worries. Makes sense?

Magnus smiled and nodded. In fact, he understood it more than well enough and he sighed softly. 

**magnus.bane:** That is true. It requires a lot of courage to actually be yourself.

**NervousArcher:** Yeah. How do you do it so effortlessly? It’s been something that I always admired about you; you’re always true to yourself and completely unapologetic about it. I wish I could be more like you.

Magnus felt his cheeks heating up and his heart started beating faster. Did the Archer even understand what he was making him feel? Alec was flushing as well, his hands shaky and he took in a deep breath, but he was glad that he finally said it - it’s been on his mind for a while now and he gulped and then waited for Magnus to reply. The few moments that took Magnus to reply seemed to drag for the entire eternity.

**magnus.bane:** You give me far too much credit, Archer. I just go by the saying that you only live once, you know? You should make it count and not really worry about what people around you care. There’s always going to be assholes among the crowd, so just ignore them and be yourself. <3

‘’If only it was that easy,’’ whispered Alec and then huffed.

**NervousArcher:** So, basically, fuck people and YOLO!

**magnus.bane:** Exactly ;) 

Alec then finally plucked up the courage to ask something else - it was about his sexuality. Never had he really talked about it with someone else. So far he had only discussed it with himself and maybe asking Magnus would help. Maybe and hopefully.

**NervousArcher:** Magnus, can I ask you something?

**magnus.bane:** Of course, you may ask me anything <3

Alec’s heart was beating fast and he was getting nervous again, feeling confident enough to write his question.

**NervousArcher:** How did you… I don’t even know how to ask, but… how did you figure it all out? I mean, I’m still figuring things out and I’m still kind of confused about… Ugh, I don’t know how to ask it even. Forget it. 

Magnus sighed and then bit his lip - he knew what the other meant. He honestly was waiting for an answer like this because he was also seeking out help like this when he was struggling with it all.

**magnus.bane:** Figure I figured out that I am bi?

**NervousArcher:** Yeah. I’m sorry if it’s a weird question.

Alec was shaking, but he was glad that Magnus got the message. 

**magnus.bane:** Not a weird question at all. The truth is, it can be very confusing. I know, Archer, I know it all too well. And sexuality is a very fluid thing, so it takes a while to figure it all out. 

**NervousArcher:** Yeah…

**magnus.bane:** A friend of mine helped me with this. He asked me: how do I see myself in the future? Archer, who do you see yourself loving in the future? Building a family with and being truly happy?

‘’You,’’ slipped past Alec’s lips and then he glanced down.

**NervousArcher:** You.

‘’No, Magnus,  _ no _ ,’’ said Magnus to himself because reading that made his heart skip a bit and he then hid his face into his palms.  _ He always fell in love way too fast _ . He huffed and then pressed his lips together. ‘’Fuck, I can’t, he’s too cute,’’ he said and then buried his face into his pillow. Alec, on the other hand, panicked when he saw what he wrote and he glanced down and he shuddered. Maybe he was being too straightforward!

**NervousArcher:** Sorry, was I too straightforward?

**magnus.bane:** I like straightforward, just next time give me heads up if you’re about to write something that’ll turn my heart into goo. I can’t handle it.

Alec grinned and then nodded, closing his eyes. No matter how he thought of it, he saw himself with Magnus - hopefully, if it all worked out.

**NervousArcher:** I mean if I’m ever brave enough to actually come out…

**magnus.bane:** You’re beyond brave, Archer. Never forget that <3

Alec wished that that would be true.

**magnus.bane:** Believe me you are. Just take things slowly to figure it all out and everything will work out okay. I’ll always be here to offer support <3

  
''Magnus is the best,'' muttered Alec and smiled. 


	4. Chapter 4

It was Friday afternoon and for a change Alec wasn’t chatting with Magnus. He hated not being able to communicate with him, but Magnus said that he was going over to a friend of his and Alec didn’t really want to be a bother. He knew how annoying it was if somebody was constantly texting - he got to experience it himself when he pissed Jace off and they still didn't really make up, but Jace was also making it very hard for him to actually apologise as he was being an ass. Yes, maybe it was unfair to Jace, but then again he didn’t understand what Alec was going through. Izzy tried to make their fight stop, but it didn’t really help and Alec was now just ignoring the blonde and giving him the well-deserved silent treatment. Taking in a deep breath, Alec groaned and then just clicked with his tongue. 

Alec was bored out of his mind. Now that he didn’t have Jace to hang out with and that Magnus wasn’t there to keep him company he was completely lost. Izzy was out and still wasn’t home from school - which was kind of weird, but she said that she was trying new things out - so Alec was left alone and he was just pouting, sitting there and was just feeling sorry for himself. Robert was still at work and Maryse took Max to his basketball practice, so Alec was home alone - probably. He didn’t know where Jace was, but he was probably out with that redhead girl, Clary, that Alec couldn’t really stand and he then huffed under his breath and he checked up on his phone, but there was nothing new. Magnus was busy as it seemed because the last time that he was online was over an hour ago and Alec just moaned out and he then shook his head.  _ Everything sucked, pretty much.  _

He slowly decided that maybe it would be a smart idea if he went downstairs and prepare something to eat because he was quite hungry. He made sure that he took his phone with him, because one could never be too careful -  _ what if Magnus decided to text him?  _ Alec was glued to his phone all the time and it was driving all of the people around him insane, but he didn’t really care. Not that he couldn’t go on without his phone, but now he had texts with Magnus - very private ones and he didn’t really want anyone to see them. Though he made sure that he had very strong password set - nobody was going through his security.

As Alec was making himself a snack, a little smile crept upon his lips because his thoughts wandered off to Magnus as well and it was just - the more that they’ve gotten to chat, the more he was falling for Magnus. And he just hoped that the feeling was mutual. Yes, Magnus flirted, but Alec was still pretty self-conscious. Maybe Magnus would get tired of this… him not wanting to tell him who he truly was. It was only logical that Magnus would want to go out on a proper date - if Alec was ever so lucky and Alec didn’t really know how he would handle it… telling Magnus the truth. He was already feeling stressed and he needed to sit down because the sheer thought of Magnus finding out the truth made him nervous. It was more than nervous, he was anxious and he then ran his fingers through his hair.

As much as he was afraid of Magnus’ reaction, he was afraid how others were going to react as well - yes, his family was pretty open-minded, but it could still change. Not to mention the coach and the rest fo the team. Being a jock and liking guys wasn’t really something that happened often and he was terrified how they would react. He loved sport and being on the team and if the whole school got to know the truth, then- Yes, Alec needed a drink, so he poured himself a glass of water, then chugged it all down in a span of a few seconds and then took in a deep breath. Yeah, he was nowhere near ready and he then sat down and took in a deep breath, again, trying to calm down. This time it was working and he then nodded.

‘’It’s all going to be okay, just chill,’’ he said and then rubbed his palms together. Alec was stuffing his face with some (not all that healthy) snacks when the front door opened and he perked up and then glanced over the clock - probably it was Izzy who returned back from school. He took the bag of chips that he had found and very lazily made his way over to the front door. Because he was at home, he looked like a mess. His hair was all messy, he was wearing sweatpants and an old shirt, but he didn’t really care, lazily yawning and he stuffed his mouth full of chips when he reached the front door and when he saw that Izzy wasn’t alone after all his jaw dropped and he blinked a few times because-

‘’Alec, hi,’’ said Izzy happily and then turned over to her  _ friend,  _ who was  _ Magnus.  _ Since-since when were Magnus and Isabelle  _ friends _ ?! Not to mention - what in the world was Magnus Bane doing in their house?! Alec blinked a few times because he couldn’t really believe his eyes and then he glanced down and tried to swallow the mouthful of chips because he was going to choke if he wasn’t going to get them down otherwise and he shuddered.  _ Magnus did say that he was going over to a friend of his!  _ But Alec thought that it was either Raphael, Ragnor and Catarina. He knew that they were his best friends, he didn’t know anything about his sister being  _ friends _ with Magnus. Alec was trying not freak out and when he glanced down and realised that he looked like a hot mess he wanted to run away. ‘’Alec, all okay over there?’’ asked Izzy after she noticed that her brother wasn’t really responding.

‘’Y-yeah,’’ stammered Alec and then quickly hid the bag of chips behind his back and then pressed his lips together.  _ Shit, shit, shit, Magnus was going to figure out!  _ Or, what if the reason for the two of them bumping into each other for the second time out of the school meant that Magnus had already figured it all out and was now just toying with him because he was angry! No, no, Magnus wasn’t like this, but still it was oddly suspicious. Maybe the Universe was trying to give him a sign that it was about the time that he finally came clean about it all, but- ‘’I-I,’’ stammered Alec and then glanced over at Magnus, who had just taken his shoes off and the other arched a brow.

‘’Um, Alec, right?’’ asked Magnus, not because he didn’t know, but because he had nothing else to say and Alec’s heart  _ crushed.  _ Magnus didn’t know his name?! He then bit his lip and then looked down. Magnus really didn’t know what to say when he came face-to-face with Alec over there. He was always awkward around jocks, always got the impression that they were either going to judge or mock him, so he always had his guard up around him and Alec was no exception -  _ he did not trust him even though he didn’t even know him all that well.  _

‘’Yes,’’ forced out Alec and then glanced down. Alec had so many questions and he looked at Izzy, who took Magnus’ coat and then placed it over to the hanger. Alec took in a deep breath, grabbed Izzy’s elbow and quickly dragged her away because she needed to explain how all of this happened and Alec tried to remain calm, but as soon as the two of them disappeared over to the kitchen and left a very confused Magnus waving over to the two of them, Alec started freaking out. Izzy, on the other hand, was very surprised because she didn’t get why Alec was acting so  _ odd.  _

‘’Alec, stop dragging me like this,’’ she said and pushed Alec’s hand away.

‘’Yes, yes, sorry,’’ said Alec and then quickly threw the bag of chips away and then grumbled because he couldn’t believe that Magnus saw him in that state and he then took in a deep breath and then he rubbed his palms together. ‘’C-could you please explain what is Magnus Bane doing over here?’’ asked Alec and Izzy arched a brow and then looked over to the door and then back at Alec.

‘’Alec, what’s your problem?’’ asked Izzy. ‘’Magnus’ a friend of mine, I-’’

‘’Since when?’’

‘’Um, this week?’’ asked Izzy and Alec arched a brow. ‘’Um, okay,’’ she said and then rubbed the back of her neck. ‘’Remember how I said I want to do something new?’’ asked Izzy and Alec nodded. Yes, that he remembered -  _ Izzy doing something new.  _ ‘’There you go, I signed up for drama class!’’ she said happily and Alec’s jaw dropped because he didn’t know how he felt about that. He was  _ jealous,  _ yes, he knew that. He was quite possessive and he managed to somehow swallow the jealousy for now and he then just took in a deep breath. ‘’I guess the teacher was impressed enough to let me perform in the next play,’’ she said and then smiled. ‘’Magnus is here to help me learn my lines, I asked him for-’’

‘’So you just  _ randomly _ decided to go over to the drama club and ask  _ Magnus  _ for help?’’ snapped Alec and Izzy nodded.

‘’Um, yes, I just said-’’

Alec bit his lips because he didn’t want to say more things and he then just looked down. ‘’Sure, yes, fine, yes makes sense,’’ he stammered and Izzy laughed.

‘’Seriously, what the hell?’’ she asked and then shrugged. ‘’I didn’t even know you knew Magnus. I mean, yeah, you’re classmates, but you don’t really hang out much in the school, so I didn’t think it would be that much of a big deal,’’ said Izzy and then shrugged. ‘’Besides, we have pretty a lot in common, so he’s a very fun guy to hang out with,’’ she said and Alec’s face grew red with jealousy. Alec bit his lip and then decided that he has heard enough. 

‘’Fine, I hope you two have fun,’’ said Alec and then just marched up the stairs, walking past Magnus and completely managed to ignore him. Magnus sighed and then looked at Izzy, who came out of the kitchen, confused as hell and then she apologised because she really didn’t understand what has gotten into Alec. She has never seen him act like this and Magnus just waved it off, because he didn’t really mind it. Jocks were all the same and he just sighed.

‘’He doesn’t like me much, does he?’’ asked Magnus and Izzy didn’t know how to answer that. Alec showed too much reaction for someone that  _ wouldn’t _ care, so she truly didn’t know how to reply to all of that. ‘’Not that I’m surprised, all jocks hate me,’’ said Magnus and then started awkwardly laughing. 

Alec, who was up the stairs, bowed his head down and then shook his head. ‘’ _ I don’t hate you, _ ’’ he whispered and then sadly left the hallway, going inside of his room. He was sad, annoyed, pissed, jealous, devastated, freaking out… all of it at the same time and he just wanted to be left alone. 

_ He has just made a complete ass out of himself in front of Magnus.  _

* * *

**NervousArcher:** How did hanging out with your friend go?

Magnus smiled and then sighed. He has just gotten home from hanging out at the Lightwoods’ and he had quite a lot of fun. Izzy was pretty talented when it came to acting and he was glad that they finally had someone that was good on their club. Magnus was having a lot of fun teaching her even if he had that awkward confrontation with her brother. Magnus never really got the chance to get to know Alec better, but so far he wasn’t really impressed. He was very closed off kind of a guy and it seemed that he didn’t like him after all, even though Magnus never really did anything to him. They hardly ever talked in school. Maybe it was just because he was a drama club kid? 

But, none of that really mattered. He forgot about it almost immediately and he was very happy to be back home as he was finally reunited with his Archer, who he missed terribly. As much as he had fun with Isabelle, he missed Archer and the first thing that he did after coming back home was to check up on him - how he was doing and he was smiling because Archer was the first one to write him a text. Happily, Magnus laid on his bed and started writing back to him.

**magnus.bane:** It was quite fun. I was teaching someone the basics of teaching and it went pretty well, she’s a natural if you ask me. But enough about me, how are you? It’s been a long time since I’ve last talked to you, I missed you <3.

Alec was locked away in his room, feeling sorry for himself and he refused to go out even for the dinner. Nope, he wasn’t hungry and he was just moping around until Magnus finally came back online and Alec had stuff to ask him - a lot of stuff. 

**NervousArcher:** I feel like shit. 

**magnus.bane:** Oh, no, do you wanna talk about it?

**NervousArcher:** Not really. About this new friend of yours… how well do you get along?

Magnus started laughing and then he whistled because he could smell jealousy a mile away and he was cackling because it was honestly so adorable. Also the way that he was asking - it was so obvious that he didn’t want to be too obvious about it, but he was also failing miserably at it and it was adorable. Magnus chuckled and then shook his head.

**magnus.bane:** Are you jealous, Archer?

Alec flushed and shook his head.

**NervousArcher:** No…

**magnus.bane:** Archer, it’s completely okay to get jealous and let me ease your mind and tell you that we’re only friends, really. You’re the one that I’m interested in. <3\. Besides, I don’t think I’m going near that house again, at least not in the near future. I ran into her brother and I did not feel welcome at all. He’s scary and I think that he hates me. I didn’t do anything though, but well… He’s a jock and I don’t really like jocks to begin with, you know? Hot to look at, but not much brain in there, sadly. 

If it was even possible, Alec’s mood even worsened and he then looked down. ‘’He hates me, Magnus hates me,’’ he carried on and then shook his head, threw the phone next to him and then buried his face into his pillow and then just took in a deep breath. So even if Magnus liked him now, that was going to change once he would tell him who he truly was. That much he knew and he was just feeling awful. Maybe he should approach Magnus in school and try to make it up for this because he really didn’t mean to flat out ignore him like that but once Alec was put out in spot like that he didn’t know what to do and he just…  _ ran away from the problem.  _ Magnus wasn’t the problem, Alec was. Alec sighed sadly and then just closed his eyes.

First thing on Monday he was going to go apologise to him and show Magnus that he wasn’t like the other jocks because it wasn’t fair that Magnus thought he was like all of the others.  _ Then again he didn’t really give him much to work with to think otherwise.  _ Alec was just feeling sorry for himself because it wasn’t his day - the Universe hated him and it was showing him that in a very obvious way. 

Magnus, on the other hand, worried about Archer because he said that he was having a bad day. Not only that but he was a lot less talkative than usual so that meant that it was probably really serious. He wanted to talk about it, but talking it over the texts like that just wasn’t… ugh. He wished he could at least call him because he wanted to cheer the Archer up.

**magnus.bane:** Archer, are you there? You said that you don’t feel that good, mind sharing it with me? You’re kind of silent, so I worry.

Alec read the text and he just whined. ‘’Great, now I made him worried. I’m really the worst.’’

**NervousArcher:** You shouldn’t worry about me, I’m the worst.

Magnus’ eyes widened.

**magnus.bane:** Come on, you know that’s not true, you’re pretty sweet and amazing.

**NervousArcher:** I’m an ass.

**magnus.bane:** No, you’re not really.

**NervousArcher:** And the whole Universe hates me.

**magnus.bane:** Archer, can I please ask you something?

**NervousArcher:** Okay.

Magnus sat up and then nodded to himself - he was kind of nervous about the question, but he was really worried. And he didn’t like seeing Archer bringing himself down like this - it hurt him as well! So, he was going to cheer him up, over a call. If that was going to be possible, he was going to ask first.

**magnus.bane:** You can totally say no, but, can I call you? No video, of course, just a voice call, I want to… i don’t know. I want to talk to you, cheer you up? I don’t like it, don’t bring yourself down like this, please? So, maybe if I call you I can cheer you up? But if you don’t want to and feel like it’s too invasive, then I completely understand and we’ll stay strictly in text form!

Alec was spiraling down the rabbit hole of despair and he was just whining. But the text surprised him and his jaw dropped -  _ Magnus wanted to call him!  _ Alec’s heart started beating faster and he then bit his lip and then shuddered because he wasn’t so sure what he should say. It was risky, it was too risky, but he couldn’t really say no either because it would be a lie - he did want the call to happen, yet he was scared. And he didn’t want to make Magnus feel sad  _ again.  _

**NervousArcher:** Are you sure? I don’t want to scare you away with my voice, it sucks.

Magnus chuckled.

**magnus.bane:** Now you’re just being ridiculous, come on.

Alec pressed his lips together and then went over to the door, making sure that it was locked and then he put on some music just in case others would be too loud. There was still the possibility of someone yelling out his name, but  _ he needed to talk to Magnus.  _ Yes, he needed to - he needed to at least somehow make it up to him! But wouldn’t Magnus recognise his voice? Alec hummed - probably not. They didn’t really talk much and he was going to talk a bit more quietly, whispering. It should give him less chances of getting caught and being recognised. Alec grabbed his phone, his hands shaky, but he managed to write back a reply.

**NervousArcher:** Okay.

Magnus almost couldn’t believe that he got Archer to agree to the voice call and he quickly stood up and then cleared his throat. Right, he needed to take this calmly, but he was quite… freaking out. He was excited, he was going to finally  _ hear _ how the other one sounded and he was fucking excited! He wasn’t going to deny himself this excitement and he quickly pressed the call button, making sure that he left out the video option and Alec was shaking as his phone started ringing -  **an incoming call from magnus.bane.** Alec swallowed and then cleared his throat and after a few long moments finally pressed the answer button. Nervous as hell, he still managed to hold onto his phone and Magnus smiled because  _ finally!  _

‘’Hello,’’ said Magnus and Alec shuddered, sitting on the edge of his bed and then he took in a deep breath.  _ Right, he needed to remember how to be a sane human being!  _ He was… he was just speechless and he heard Magnus chuckling. ‘’Is anyone there?’’ he asked and Alec took in a deep breath and then decided to finally stop stalling and then just finally spoke up… quietly. Very quietly, almost whispering.

‘’U-um, yes, hi,’’ muttered Alec back and Magnus smiled.  _ The guy was whispering, but still he could hear his adorable voice. Sadly, he couldn't recognise his voice due to quiet talking.  _ And he was stuttering terribly. Gosh, he was so nervous. ‘’I-I’m sorry, I’m, just, uh, really n-nervous,’’ whispered Alec and Magnus chuckled again. Fucking. Adorable.

‘’Staying true to your handle name I see,’’ said Magnus and then sighed happily. ‘’It’s okay, no need to be nervous,’’ said Magnus and then sighed happily. ‘’I’m nervous too, you know,’’ said Magnus and Alec chuckled softly. ‘’And for the record - your voice, totally doesn’t suck,’’ said Magnus and Alec flushed.

‘’Um, thanks?’’ said Alec back.

‘’You’re welcome,’’ said Magnus and Alec felt his heart beating faster than ever before, gripping on his phone. ‘’You still here with me?’’ asked Magnus because he could hear the other’s rapid breathing.

‘’Y-yeah, I am,’’ said Alec and Magnus smiled.

‘’Good,’’ said Magnus. ‘’You can relax, I really don’t bite, no matter what rumour has it,’’ joked Magnus.

‘’There’s a rumour?’’ asked Alec cutely and Magnus started laughing.

‘’It was a joke, Archer,’’ said Magnus and Alec looked down.

‘’Oh-oh, right, how stupid of me,’’ said Alec and cringed.  _ He was so bad at this.  _

‘’Now, here’s the thing, you really shouldn’t be bringing yourself down like this all the time,’’ said Magnus and Alec held in his breath. ‘’I mean it, you’re great, so chill and don’t worry so much,’’ said Magnus. ‘’So, what happened today that made your day suck so much?’’

_ Oh, just hearing you say that you dislike me and making you think that I hate you.  _

‘’U-um, stuff,’’ said Alec and Magnus grinned.

‘’Elaborate?’’

‘’Um,’’ said Alec and then chewed on his lip and then looked around his room. ‘’It’s… I don’t, I mean-’’

‘’Okay,’’ said Magnus quickly. ‘’It’s okay, let’s talk about something else,’’ said Magnus, deciding to take Archer’s mind off of it then.

‘’Thank you,’’ mumbled Alec.

‘’Is that music I see in the background?’’ asked Magnus and Alec smiled sheepishly.

‘’Yes,’’ he said.

‘’Classical, huh?’’ asked Magnus and Alec nodded.

‘’Yes, um,’’ he said and then held in his breath. ‘’Helps me calm down and helps with studying too,’’ said Alec. As a jock one wouldn’t really think that he liked classical music, but he loved it and Magnus sounded impressed. 

‘’Same here,’’ said Magnus. ‘’Gosh, you sound like a train,’’ joked Magnus and Alec arched a brow. ‘’Breathe, just breathe, it’s okay,’’ said Magnus and Alec figured that he could hear his rapid breathing. Alec flushed and then looked down. ‘’Fuck, I wish I could hug you right now,’’ escaped past Magnus’ lips and Alec smiled softly.

‘’I’m trying to calm down, you know,’’ said Alec. ‘’But-but I never talked to a guy I like… like this,’’ he said and he felt his cheeks reddening. ‘’I’m really bad at it as you can tell,’’ said Alec and Magnus chuckled, shaking his head. ‘’And I would want that hug too.’’

‘’You’re absolutely adorable.’’

‘’I am… no,’’ said Alec, but Magnus could feel that Archer liked the attention and he smiled. 

‘’You should learn how to take a compliment,’’ said Magnus and Alec then took in a deep breath and then nodded. 

‘’Y-yeah,’’ said Alec and then made a few moments of silence. ‘’You were totally right, the call cheered me up,’’ said Alec, no longer feeling sad - it was the best thing that has happened to him the whole week and Magnus smiled. 

‘’Told you.’’

‘’Thank you, Magnus, so much, for everything,’’ said Alec softly and Magnus grabbed his chest.  _ He was falling for him, too quickly! _


	5. Chapter 5

It was Monday and Alec was already stressed because he spent the entire weekend planning how he would apologise to Magnus. He had many scenarios playing in his head, but no matter how much he tried to think of the perfect way, nothing seemed to work. He needed the apology to go smoothly, he didn’t want Magnus to think that he was a creep  _ and _ make him suspicious of his intentions. Also, there was a good possibility that Magnus would figure out the whole truth and Alec needed to make sure that he was on good terms with Magnus before any of that was going to happen, but it was tough. So, Alec spent the entire day thinking what to do. But what he didn’t know that as he was thinking how he should apologise to Magnus was that he was also  _ staring _ at him. Alec himself didn’t notice that, but Magnus sure did and he was very uncomfortable as he didn’t really know why the Lightwood was suddenly acting like that towards him. Maybe he was pissed that he got close to his sister?

Magnus tried his best to stay away from Alec - he really tried to keep his distance, but that also didn’t seem to help as Alec’s eyes were following him everywhere and he was going to say something. He didn’t really want to make a big deal about it, but it was pissing him off and he wasn’t going to let a jock bully him and make him feel uncomfortable like that. He didn’t do anything wrong and he always stood his ground and expressed how he truly felt like. And if he was going to need to talk some sense into the idiot, then he was going to do so!

If it wasn’t bad enough that Alec has been following him around for the entire day, his mood only worsened when it was time for the gym class. Again, Magnus didn’t mind sports, but he didn’t like it in the way that the school was forcing them to train like. He preferred dance and stuff like that, but running around and chasing after a ball was completely stupid and Magnus was already pouting as the teacher told them that today they would be working on their basketball skills. That had to be one of his least favourite sports and he was just whining in the back, looking over to Ragnor, who was also quite pissed off. The only ray of sunshine that he had was that they would be working in pairs. 

Being paired up with Ragnor was going to be fun, both of them hated the sport, so it was going to consist of both of them whining and cussing the teacher and the rest of the jocks that were going to be mocking then - as per usual. But Magnus had so such luck because the teacher wanted them to  _ mix up - try something new.  _ Magnus hated the idea and in the end it was the teacher that put them in pairs. And guess who he was paired up with - no other than Alec Lightwood and Magnus just whined because that was going to  _ suck _ so much. Magnus really wasn’t in the mood and he couldn’t wait to be back at home, texting his Archer in the safety of his own room, far away from gym and jocks. Ugh, Magnus was stressed.

Alec, on the other hand, almost jumped for joy when he heard that he was going to be training with Magnus for the next period, but he quickly put on a serious poker face and then he took in a deep breath.  _ Right, he needed to remind himself where he was.  _ That was in the middle of class, the rest of his teammates next to him and he couldn’t really show how happy he was even though inside he was mentally screaming from happiness. Alec was barely containing his excitement despite the level of nervousness that he was feeling at the moment as he was walking closer to Magnus, carrying the ball with him and he was just hoping that everything was going to go okay - maybe he was going to get his chance to finally apologise properly. It was now or never - he needed to show Magnus that he wasn’t like the others.  _ He knew the stereotypes of jocks and he wasn’t a stereotype!  _ He was going to prove it.

Magnus just whined and then looked at Ragnor, who was paired up with someone else and his friend mouthed him a quick  _ good luck _ and then Magnus glanced at Alec, who was already there and Magnus pressed his lips together and then held in his breath. He needed to stay calm, he needed to be polite. Izzy was his friend and he didn’t want to fight with her brother. Biting his lip, he clasped his hands together, the corner of his lip twitching because all that Alec was doing was standing there, stiff as a board and was again just staring at him. Magnus tried really hard not to snap, but it was pissing him off. It was officially the worst day ever. 

‘’Are you just gonna stand there or can we finally start the whole thing?’’ asked Magnus impatiently and then took the ball away from Alec and ran to the empty spot of the gym where they could train in peace and Alec flinched and his heart sunk.  _ He has already messed up  _ and Alec felt completely discouraged, but then he decided to swallow back his self pitying for the time being and he was determined - he was going to apologise if that was the last thing he did that day, he was! ‘’Lightwood!’’ hissed Magnus and Alec flinched again and quickly hurried over to Magnus, his head bowed down and Magnus groaned.  _ He groaned! _

‘’Sorry,’’ mumbled Alec, but felt discouraged to continue any more than that. On top of that, the teacher started talking again and Magnus was listening to what they were going to be doing - one was going to be trying to block the other from shooting the ball through the hoop. That sounded quite easy enough and Magnus rubbed his palms, but Alec was just looking down and was feeling sorry for himself. Yep, it was all going to suck and he just sucked. The whole day completely sucked - utterly sucked. 

Magnus rolled his eyes again and then took in a deep breath. ‘’Are you just trying to piss me off on purpose?’’ asked Magnus because the whole thing was getting ridiculous. Alec looked up and his eyes were wide - he looked surprised; was he only playing dumb, or did he really have no idea what Magnus was talking about? Magnus pressed his lips together and then glanced away a little bit. If that was the case then that made  _ him _ a complete ass for acting like that towards Lightwood and he took in a deep breath. Nah, he was a jock, so there was no way that he did  _ not _ know what was going on. Biting into his lip, Alec finally forced himself to speak up.

‘’I didn’t mean to piss you off,’’ said Alec and Magnus arched a brow.

‘’Oh, yeah?’’ asked Magnus, completely defensive and then he crossed his arms on top of his chest. ‘’Then why have you been glaring at me for the whole day?’’ asked Magnus and then placed his hands on top of his sides and shook his head. ‘’Is it because I came over the last day?’’ asked Magnus. ‘’Because I befriended your sister?’’ he asked and Alec quickly shook his head because of course that wasn’t the case and Magnus narrowed his eyes.

‘’No.’’

‘’You seemed pissed off when you saw me over at your place,’’ said Magnus and Alec quickly looked down -  _ he needed to come up with something, pronto!  _ ‘’Look,’’ said Magnus. ‘’Your sister and I are only friends,’’ said Magnus, thinking that Alec’s problem was him getting too close to Izzy. ‘’She’s a nice girl, but I already have somebody else and we are  _ just _ friends, so no need to be so touchy about the whole thing,’’ said Magnus and Alec shuddered, feeling his cheeks redden.  _ He had someone else, that someone was him!  _ His heart was beating fast and Alec took in a deep breath and then he clasped his hands together once more and stepped a bit closer.

‘’Sorry for all the staring,’’ said Alec and then rubbed the back of his neck. The best thing was to just tell the truth about it. Not whole thing, just the whole staring thing and Alec then bit his lip and then shrugged. ‘’I, um, I was thinking how to apologise to you,’’ said Alec and Magnus arched a brow - was he for real? ‘’Look, I know you don’t like me, but I don’t really, um… I didn’t want to be mean the other day,’’ said Alec and then glanced down again. ‘’I acted like an ass, I know,’’ he said, trying not to trip over his words too much and he then rubbed his palms together again. ‘’I was just, um-’’

Magnus arched a brow and then cleared his throat. An apology wasn’t what he expected to get from a jock and he then cocked his head to the side - he was a little bit confused and taken back. ‘’You’re apologising to me?’’ he asked, just to be sure and Alec then nodded. 

‘’Yes,’’ said Alec. ‘’I’m trying, I’m not really good with words,’’ he carried on and then shifted from one leg to the other and he then took in a deep breath and tried to relax a little bit. If he acted like this, Magnus was going to suspect something. And he was panicking also because what if Magnus recognised his voice after all? He was trying his best to keep his voice low and quiet the last time, but one could never be too sure and Alec cleared his throat. ‘’How am I doing so far?’’ asked Alec and unexpectedly made Magnus chuckle.

Magnus sighed and then shook his head. Alec’s heart fell -  _ so it was no good?  _ He was a completely failed case then! Magnus’ anger was slowly melting away - he couldn’t believe it himself - but he actually believed the jock and he then just sighed and slowly nodded. ‘’You’re doing fine,’’ finally said Magnus and then sighed. ‘’Huh, I guess I owe you an apology as well then,’’ said Magnus and Alec shook his head because it wasn’t necessary. Magnus did nothing bad!

‘’No, no, i-it’s okay,’’ stammered Alec.

‘’It’s not really,’’ said Magnus and then smiled. ‘’I… have bad experiences with jocks, I’ve been bullied before, I so am always vary of them,’’ said Magnus and then made a little pause. ‘’And I was unfair to you,’’ he said. ‘’Assuming that you were pulling a prank on me with all of that staring when in reality you were just trying to apologise,’’ said Magnus and then chuckled. That was kind of adorable, he thought and he then sighed happily. ‘’I’m sorry as well, I get too defensive,’’ he said and Alec shuddered softly because Magnus smiled and when Magnus smiled like that Alec couldn’t help but… melt. Yep, he was already melting and trying to keep a straight expression on his face was getting harder and harder. 

‘’It’s okay, l-like I said,’’ said Alec and then glanced down and then huffed under his breath. Magnus smiled, maybe this Alec guy was different from the other jocks. His smile grew a little bit and he could see that the gym teacher was getting impatient with the two of them. The whole class was working on their basketball skills  _ but _ them and Magnus could see that the other was getting more and more pissed. Chuckling, Magnus grinned and then he glanced up at Alec again, who was trying to calm down his racing heart, but it was hard!

‘’I think we should start practicing,’’ said Magnus and Alec nodded. ‘’And maybe from now on we could get along?’’ he asked and then offered his hand to Alec, who glanced down at it and his eyes widened, taking in a deep breath and he quickly took Magnus’ hand, shaking it. As their hands touched, Alec’s brain fried because that was too much for him, nodding and he then looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to the two of them. Luckily no one was really watching them and he then just cleared his throat.

‘’Y-yeah, that would be, um, nice,’’ finally forced out the jock.

‘’Indeed,’’ smiled Magnus and withdrew his hand. Alec was happy, Magnus finally saw that he wasn’t a complete dick and he then bit his lip because he didn’t know what to say, really. Luckily for both of them, Magnus was a lot more well-spoken. Magnus finally picked up the ball again and the teacher finally seemed pleased - kind of. ‘’Mind to show me how this thing works?’’ asked Magnus and Alec perked up. ‘’I know a lot about dance, but when it comes to basketball I’m crap at it,’’ he said and Alec just took the ball from him and nodded again - he was feeling like a robot. His movements were stiff, almost robotic, but he managed to loosen up a little bit.

‘’Leave it up to me, I know a thing or two about basketball,’’ said Alec cheekily.

Magnus narrowed his eyes and then cocked his head to the side because that sounded almost like- nah, it couldn’t be. He smiled back at Alec and then ran after him because Alec was already in action and Magnus smiled. ‘’Hey, wait up,’’ he yelled after him and Alec couldn’t hide his smile.  _ It was his lucky day, he didn’t care what anyone said! _

* * *

‘’Dude, why are you smiling so much?’’ asked Jace. Alec rolled his eyes and then he looked over at Izzy, who gritted her teeth. Jace was annoying the hell out of both of them and Alec sighed, but he didn’t say anything. The three of them were walking back home, soon reaching their house. ‘’Izzy, do you know anything about it?’’ he then asked and Izzy rolled her eyes and shook her head.

‘’I just had a good day,’’ said Alec and then grinned.

‘’Yeah, but mind sharing?’’

‘’Yep, I mind, so I’m not telling,’’ said Alec cheekily and then glanced over at Izzy who was laughing quietly. She didn’t know either what happened that Alec was in such a good mood, but it’s been a while since she had seen him smiling so much and she was glad, she didn’t ask any questions though. Jace, on the other hand, was just ugh. Annoying and she took in a deep breath. But the fact that Alec was teasing like that made her laugh so much - it was killing Jace not knowing!

‘’But!’’ whined Jace. ‘’That’s not fair!’’

‘’Jace, shut up,’’ whined Izzy.

‘’You two are both going up against me?’’ asked Jace. ‘’Fine keep your secrets then,’’ said Jace and then just kept quiet. He and Alec managed to make up - somehow. They didn’t really talk about it, but they just… they were moving past their last fight. Alec and Jace never really talked about  _ feelings. _ They either waited it out or got into a fight. But the tension was still there.

‘’He’s very annoying lately,’’ commented Izzy. 

‘’I know,’’ said Alec and then just shook his head. ‘’I really want to sow his mouth together sometimes,’’ he whined and then just shook his head. ‘’Do you think he and Clary are having problems?’’ he asked and looked at her sister. Jace usually got whiny and clingy when things weren’t working out in his love life. Izzy only shrugged because she didn’t really know what was going on between Clary and Jace, but Alec was probably right.

‘’Have no idea, I’ll ask him later,’’ said Izzy and Alec nodded.

‘’Yeah,’’ said Alec and then looked in front of them. Jace was already stepping inside of the house and Alec just grinned when he felt his phone buzzing and he quickly reached inside of his pocket and unlocked the screen, his heart skipping a beat when he saw that he had a new direct message from Magnus and he happily smiled, biting into his lip and he couldn’t wait to go to his room and finally reply to him. 

Izzy noticed the little smile and he glanced over to Alec’s phone. She didn’t mean to pry - she really didn’t - but she managed to catch a glance at something. She managed to see a name written on the screen. Magnus Bane. Her eyes widened and Alec didn’t really notice that as he was already by the door, hurrying inside because he had to reply back to Magnus and Izzy was just… she didn’t know what to think. Alec was texting Magnus?

At first it didn’t make much sense, but then… it would explain why Alec was acting like that when she brought Magnus home and when she told him that he and Magnus were close.  _ Alec was jealous?  _ Did Alec like Magnus? Izzy’s heart was beating much faster and then she glanced down and rubbed the back of her neck. Now she felt bad about it. She wasn’t completely sure, but…it sure seemed like that. She was just confused to why Magnus didn’t mention anything about texting her brother, but then again, it wasn’t any of her business. But still - Alec seemed happier and she was glad about that!

* * *

**magnus.bane:** How was your day at school, Archer?

**NervousArcher:** Oh, it was quite good, even if it’s Monday, I had a great day today!

Magnus smiled and then chuckled. It was Monday evening, he was sitting in the living room and was again texting with Archer. He was glad to hear that he was doing much better because on Friday he sounded completely down, but Magnus managed to turn that frown upside down and he then happily sighed, leaned back in the couch and then bit his lip as he decided to write back a reply to Archer.

**magnus.bane:** That’s amazing to hear, I’m glad you had a nice day. It was a day full of surprises. So, what are you up to now?

Magnus sighed and then perked up when the front door opened. His father was back home and he just smiled happily, greeting Asmodeus, but his attention was soon back on his phone as Archer replied back and Magnus was quick to read the new message.

**NervousArcher:** I’m in my room. Thinking of you.

Magnus’ smile was growing.

**magnus.bane:** Yeah? Pleasant thoughts I assume?

**NervousArcher:** Oh, yes, very.

**magnus.bane:** Care to expand on that idea?

Magnus grinned because he knew that he made the Archer flush just now. He tried to imagine how the Archer looked like and Magnus had many, many images in front of his eyes. He wished he could tell him who he was already because the curiosity was killing him. But, things took time, he was very timid and Magnus really didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable.  _ But still!  _

‘’Magnus, today we’re having a feast. I brought us some pizza,’’ announced the man, Magnus’ father, as he stepped inside of the room and happily presented the pizzas to his son. Magnus smiled widely and then chuckled. ‘’Please don’t tell me you’ve already ate because I’m gonna be heartbroken,’’ whined Asmodeus. 

‘’No, dad, I haven’t,’’ said Magnus and Asmodeus sighed happily. ‘’Those pizzas are looking great,’’ he added on and Asmodeus nodded. Before Magnus was able to stand up and follow his dad into the kitchen to set up the table, his phone buzzed again and he quickly grabbed it, his smile growing again and he then chuckled when he read the text.

**NervousArcher:** There’s no specific thought, just you in general and every thought about you in pleasant.

‘’Anyone special?’’ asked Asmodeus and tried to take a peek at Magnus’ phone teasingly and Magnus quickly locked the screen, but in the end Magnus just nodded and Asmodeus waggled his eyebrows. ‘’Okay, who is it?’’ asked Asmodeus and scooted closer to Magnus, putting the pizzas onto the coffee table and Magnus grinned.

‘’I thought we’re having a feast?’’

‘’Yes, later,’’ said Asmodeus. ‘’Now,’’ he said. ‘’Tell me about his  _ special _ person?’’

‘’Dad,’’ whined Magnus.

‘’So, who is it?’’ asked Asmodeus.

‘’I don’t know,’’ said Magnus and Asmodeus gave him an offended look.

‘’You grow up and suddenly don’t wanna share more with me,’’ said Asmodeus and then clicked with his tongue. ‘’You know as a child, you-’’

‘’No, dad,’’ said Magnus and laughed. ‘’I really  _ don’t _ know,’’ said Magnus and Asmodeus arched a brow. 

‘’You don’t know?’’

‘’It’s someone from our school, but I don’t know his name and-’’

‘’Oh, I don’t trust him,’’ said Asmodeus. ‘’Seems sketchy to me.’’

‘’It’s a guy from our school,’’ said Magnus and then laughed. ‘’Trust me,’’ he said. ‘’Someone started slipping these love quotes into my locker this year and they got my attention. Then they gave me their Instagram name,’’ he said and Magnus then hummed. ‘’Instagram is what us-’’

‘’Oh, come on, I wasn’t born in the stone age. I know what Instagram is,’’ said Asmodeus and crossed his arms on top of his chest. 

‘’Oh,’’ said Magnus and then laughed. ‘’Right, well,’’ he said and took in a deep breath. ‘’I messaged him there and now we’ve been chatting back and forth,’’ said Magnus and smiled. ‘’And he’s really sweet, caring and-’’

‘’Love quotes, huh?’’ asked Asmodeus. ‘’Old fashioned, but still effective, I see. Glad to see that you young generations still haven’t forgotten the magic of doing things in an old fashioned kind of way,’’ said Asmodeus and then tapped his lips. ‘’Though I’m still not very sure that this is a very good idea, I mean it could be anyone and-’’

‘’Papa, I’m not going to meet up with him until I know who it is,’’ said Magnus and Asmodeus finally let it go. ‘’And if I’ll be going out, I’ll tell you, yes,’’ said Magnus and rolled his eyes. Having an overprotective father could be a bit annoying. ‘’Okay? Now let’s eat pizza?’’

‘’Yes!’’ said Asmodeus happily and rubbed his palms together. ‘’Just wait till you see what I’ve brought home for us!’’

* * *

‘’Iz,’’ said Alec and his sister glanced at him. 

‘’Yes?’’

‘’Your friend,’’ said Alec, trying not to be too suspicious about it. ‘’Magnus, is he coming over any time soon again?’’ he asked and Izzy grinned as she heard the question. Alec was currently in her room, hanging out with her. She was sitting on the floor, while Alec was coming her hair back as he was sitting on her bed. The mission was: a french braid and Alec was determined to succeed! Usually Izzy would have to beg him, but now he volunteered - he needed to ask more about Magnus, you see!

‘’Maybe?’’ asked Izzy and then held back her laughter. ‘’I thought you didn’t like him much,’’ she said. ‘’You were quite upset last Friday,’’ she said and Alec waved it off.

‘’No, um, I don’t not like him,’’ he said and he felt his heart beating faster - much faster, biting his lip and then he continued. ‘’You know, he’s cool, whatever,’’ said Alec and Izzy laughed softly and then she looked over her shoulder.

‘’I can invite him here again,’’ she said.

‘’Oh, cool, cool,’’ said Alec. ‘’Magnus, he’s quite, um, you know,’’ he carried on and Izzy’s eyes were getting wider. ‘’Quite magical,’’ he said and quickly bit his lip. Izzy grinned and then nodded.

‘’Oh, you mean on stage? Yeah, he’s dancing is outstanding!’’ said Izzy, but knew that wasn’t what Alec meant.

‘’Yeah, that, that, he’s very good at dancing,’’ said Alec and felt how his hands were shaking as he was braiding Izzy’s long black hair. There was that feeling again - it was on the tip of his tongue, that he wanted to tell Izzy more, but his voice faltered and he just took in a deep breath. 

‘’Yes,’’ said Izzy. ‘’You should come over by the drama department once, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.’’

‘’Yeah, maybe,’’ said Alec and then his voice trailed off again.

There was heaviness in the air and Izzy could feel it. She could feel the weight on Alec’s shoulders, that he was carrying all by himself and she wished that she could take some of it off, but she couldn’t push it too much. She knew that it was Alec’s time to choose when he was ready to tell her what’s on his mind even though Izzy already had a feeling what that was. 

Alec, on the other hand, was shaking as he was coming to the end of that braid and all he could hear was the sound of his heartbeat. He was terrified, his palms sweating and he swallowed thickly again, trying to ignore the feeling, but he just couldn’t. The words were on his tongue and he just… he could trust Izzy. He came close to telling her a few times, always scaring away from it, but this time it could be different. Magnus told him that it was okay and that he would  _ know  _ when it would be the right time. So that was it?

Izzy could feel Alec tying up the braid and she reached behind, smiling. ‘’Oh, you’re a natural,’’ she said, trying to relieve some tension and then she turned around. ‘’Alec?’’ she asked because Alec was sitting there and wasn’t saying much.  _ If he was going to do it, he was just going to blurt it all out in one sentence, then hide and hope for the best.  _ ‘’Is everything-’’

‘’I’m gay,’’ said Alec quickly and then ran his fingers through his hair, his foot nervously tapping against the floor. There, he said it and it wasn’t the end of the world! He felt good, he felt…  _ Izzy was quiet.  _ Alec’s heart fell to the pit of his stomach and then he looked up at Izzy. 

Alec was a giant, but at the moment he looked so small and so scared that it broke Izzy’s heart. She leaned up and Alec gulped, waiting for any kind of reaction and the reaction he got was a  _ hug.  _ A tight hug, Izzy pulled him in and wrapped her arms around him. Alec shuddered and then gasped, smiling, kind of. Alec returned the hug and Izzy smiled. She didn’t say anything, just hugged her older brother because Alec needed it. Tears of relief welled up in Alec’s eyes and when Izzy heard a sniffle, she quickly pulled back.

‘’Alec, don’t cry,’’ she said quickly. ‘’I’m so proud of you, I don’t-’’

‘’I’m just relieved,’’ said Alec and then quickly started wiping off the tears and he then looked down. He felt amazing, but at the same time he was still shaking. ‘’You don’t know how many times I’ve wanted to tell you, but I’ve been too scared,’’ said Alec and Izzy sat next to him, reached out and held his hand. 

‘’I’ll always have your back, Alec,’’ said Izzy and Alec sniffled again, nodding.

‘’Y-yeah, I know, I just,’’ he said and shook his head. ‘’D-don’t tell mom and dad… or Jace. I’m still not-not ready to-’’

‘’Alec, it’s okay,’’ said Izzy. ‘’I’m glad you told me,’’ she said and Alec nodded. ‘’My lips are sealed,’’ said Izzy and then gave Alec a little smile. ‘’I’m so proud of you, Alec.’’

‘’T-thanks,’’ he said and then puffed his cheeks. Izzy had more questions about Magnus, but she didn’t ask. Instead, she just smiled and then took in a deep breath. ‘’How about I, um, do your nails?’’ offered Alec because he was just trying to channel his nervousness out and Izzy smiled.

‘’Oh, yes, please!’’ she said happily and clapped. Much later, when Izzy’s nails were already drying, Alec smiled again and then sighed.

‘’Iz, I mean it, thank you,’’ said Alec and Izzy leaned against him and giggled.

‘’You’ll always be my grumpy older brother, that will never change,’’ she said with a smile and Alec only nodded.  _ He was so happy and he couldn’t wait to tell Magnus all about it! _


	6. Chapter 6

With the wave of relief that came as he came out to Izzy, so came the paranoia and Alec was looking around for the entire day at school. He couldn’t focus at all because he thought that  _ everyone _ was talking about him and pointing at him even though he knew that that couldn’t be true. Izzy was the only one that knew and she would never tell the others, but he was just… well, paranoid, but he managed to get himself under control by the end of the day as he managed to see that it was all him and his overactive imagination. He was okay, nobody knew and he took in a deep breath as he was walking over to the drama club. He was going to go wait for Izzy to be done so that the two of them could go home together. Alec had practice that day, so he stayed longer at school. Usually Alec and Jace left for home together, but Jace was now still angry with him and was completely ignoring his existence. It made Alec kind of sad, but at the same time, he glad - he didn’t have to deal with his annoying questions and he huffed because Jace was just making it all about himself when he really shouldn’t be acting like this. But this was Jace, so what should he expect anyway? 

Magnus was proud of him when he told him the other day that he managed to come out to his sister. Magnus knew a little bit more about him, so he knew that he had a brother and a sister. And as soon as he told Magnus, the other called him, deciding that something like that needed to be talked over a voice call and not over texts. Alec was trying to keep his voice down as much as he could because he didn’t want Magnus to recognise him - he was really walking to thin ice and it was getting harder and harder to keep his identity as secret, especially since they got along in real life - kind of. They didn’t really speak to each other since that day that Alec managed to apologise in the gym class, but it was still hard. Alec felt like he was lying to Magnus and he didn’t like how it made him feel. It made him feel guilty, so maybe it was time to finally tell Magnus? But then again, he didn't know how Magnus was going to react. He didn’t want Magnus to  _ hate _ him. He had such a good thing going on with him that he didn’t want it to end. Magnus was the only one that he trusted with  _ everything _ and losing that was going to hurt. So, he was afraid, too afraid to lose Magnus was the reason why he didn’t tell Magnus. But he was planning and working on that! 

_ And maybe if all went great he could invite Magnus to the prom! _

It was still  _ very  _ early, but Alec was already working on gathering his courage to ask Magnus, but he still had a long way to go and he took in a deep breath and then glanced over to the drama department, leaning against the wall and tried to look as casual as it was possible, trying not to make it too obvious that he was waiting for someone. There would be rumours going around immediately if someone saw a jock loitering around the drama department and Alec clicked with his tongue and checked his phone - no new messages from Magnus and he then huffed, glancing over to the time and he rubbed the back of his neck. Izzy still wasn’t done? Alec decided to wait for a few more minutes and because his sister still didn’t show any signs of coming out of there, Alec decided to go inside and see what in the world was happening. Looking around to make sure that the coast was clear, Alec quickly sneaked inside.  _ Patience wasn’t Alec’s virtue, you see!  _ He hated if someone made him wait. 

Alec didn’t really want to be seen, so he was walking quietly and much to his luck, there was a music playing, so nobody could really hear him opening the door and Alec slowly looked around the corner to see what was happening. There was a hallway that lead to the right as soon as you stepped inside and then there was the main room, where was the dancing and acting classes took place. Alec didn’t really know where was what, so he slowly looked around the corner and his eyes widened when he saw that the room wasn’t empty. In the room there were a few mirrors, there was a place where one could practice dancing and Alec’s eyes grew huge when he saw that  _ Magnus _ of all people was in there, training apparently.  _ Where was Izzy then?  _

Drama classes have ended for the day and Magnus decided to stay behind because he wanted to work on his dancing for a little bit more. He didn’t really mind it, he really wanted to prove to the teacher just how committed he was, so he was staying a few extra minutes just to make sure that he got the routine down to the bone. He had the music playing and was slowly dancing around, making sure that his  _ posture _ was well and he had a little smile on his face. He was the happiest when he was dancing, dancing was his life and he honestly couldn’t imagine his life without it. Asmodeus signed him up for a dance class when he was three and he was dancing ever since.  _ That was the best thing that his dad has done.  _ Dancing was just amazing.

Dancing was a way for him to express himself - one could express everything through dancing. Anger, happiness, sadness - everything. And Magnus didn’t mean to brag, but he was quite good at it. He knew that and the teacher did as well - that was why he put that much more pressure on Magnus. He wanted to see him succeed and Magnus appreciated that even though it put more stress on him. He knew that the teacher was coming from a good place and he then made a spin, slowly moving his hands up and then made another jump, spinning in the air and landed on the floor elegantly. 

Yes, so far so good. The routine itself was pretty easy to remember, but given that his part included  _ singing _ , it was going to be quite though. But he was going to make sure that he was going to work on that as well and he happily took in a deep breath and then glanced at himself in the mirror and smiled a little bit. He has been dancing for an hour now, so he was starting to feel a bit tired, taking in a deep breath. “I think that went pretty smoothly,” said Magnus to himself and then decided to call it a day. He should be going home if he didn’t want his father to start worrying too much.

Alec, on the other hand, was trying not to  _ breathe _ too loudly as he was creeping around the corner. He was just like a creep, but as he saw Magnus dancing like that, he couldn’t  _ not _ stare. Izzy didn’t joke when she said that Magnus was magical when he was dancing - he was amazing and Alec was shaken to the core. He never really saw Magnus in action - a few times, but he never really paid too much attention - until now and he was just trying to remind his heart to beat normally, but it was hard and he bit into his lip. If Magnus’ dancing wasn’t enough, it was the fact that Magnus was wearing a tank top, which showed his strong arms perfectly and Alec was just eating everything up because Magnus was just  _ yummy.  _ Yep, Magnus was- Alec was in awe.

Magnus had his things at the back, so he decided to leave the main room and as soon as he made his way closer to Alec, the jock started panicking because he needed to do something - he needed to hide, if not Magnus was going to find him.  _ But he had nowhere to go _ and he quickly started walking back, hitting his elbow against the corner of the wall and he let out a loud yelp. Magnus flinched when he heard someone around the corner because he expected to be alone - most of the others already left, no? Maybe a few of them were still chatting in the back. 

“Shit, shit, shit,” was cursing Alec as he was trying to do something, but Magnus was already there, catching him in action and Alec quickly turned around and tried to think of something, anything as he didn’t want Magnus to think that he was some sort of a stalker.  _ He has just apologised to him!  _ If he continued like that he was going to completely blow the chances of ever telling Magnus how he felt about him!

“Alec?!” shrieked Magnus because he was at a loss for words to see the jock there. What in the world was he doing there? Then again, Izzy was a part of the club now, so maybe he was there to for his sister. Still, it was kind of weird to see a jock of all people in their department and he then pressed his lips together.  _ Izzy still wasn’t out though?  _ She has left a while back, but then again, she left with Lewis and the two of them got busy in the back. Magnus smiled and then shook his head - ah, yes the two of them hit it off pretty well since the entire beginning! Maybe he was even the reason for Izzy joining all of the sudden! Alec was holding onto his aching elbow, massaging it while he was still looking away from Magnus and the other arched his brow. “Is everything okay there?” asked Magnus and Alec nodded.

“I hit my elbow, I’ll survive,” said Alec and Magnus smiled. 

“Well, that’s a relief,” said Magnus and then clasped his hands together. “Not to be rude, but what are you doing here?”

“Um,” said Alec. “Looking for Izzy,” said Alec quickly and Magnus hummed. Yep, so his hunch was correct. “She’s supposed to be waiting for me, but she still isn’t out, so I thought that she’s still here,” said Alec and finally forced himself to face Magnus.  _ Fuck, those arms!  _ Alec shuddered and then smiled softly, tried not to flush too much, but it was hopeless and Magnus smiled, shaking his head.

“She’s probably in the back with Lewis,” said Magnus and grinned.

“Lewis?” asked Alec suspiciously. “As in Simon Lewis?” he asked and narrowed his eyes.

“The one and only,” said Magnus. “Your sister has taken quite an interest in him,” said Magnus and then gave Alec a little meaningful look.  _ Alec knew what that meant! _ So - that was her reason? Simon was on the drama club, everyone knew it. He was one of those nerds that was very proud of it and Alec didn’t really like him much. Not because he was a nerd - he honestly didn’t care - but because he just talked all the Goddamn time and he was annoying.  _ Izzy said that she wanted to try something new!  _ Alec hummed and then shook his head.

“Ah, so that’s the new thing she wanted to try,” commented Alec.

“What was that?” asked Magnus as he didn’t quite get that.

“Oh, nothing, nothing,” said Alec and then rubbed the back of his neck. Silence fell in between them and he wanted to say something more, he didn’t like how awkward it all got all of the sudden and he then glanced up at Magnus, who also looked awkward. Magnus wanted to leave, but he also didn’t want to be rude and Alec sighed sadly. He couldn’t keep up a conversation with Mangus in person. He sucked. “I, um,” said Alec and Magnus looked up. “Saw a part of your routine over there. You're very good at, um, dancing,” said Alec and Magnus arched his brow.

“You were  _ watching _ me?” asked Magnus suspiciously. 

‘’Oh, no, no, of course not,’’ said Alec, lying his ass off and Magnus arched a brow - the Lightwood was acting oddly suspicious and Magnus wasn’t so sure that he fully believed him. ‘’I mean,’’ said Alec. ‘’I thought Iz was there so I took a peek, but that’s all,’’ said Alec and Magnus decided to roll with it because he really wasn’t in the mood to be trying to work out what Alec meant by all of that. He was too tired - he just wanted home and a hot shower.

‘’Ah,’’ said Magnus. ‘’Thanks, I guess,’’ he said awkwardly and Alec shuddered, his cheeks red already and he just looked down because Magnus’ arms were too, too distracting. Luckily for both of them, Izzy and Simon finally decided to come out and they totally saved the moment because the awkwardness was back and Alec wasn’t going to handle being in it again. Alec hummed when he saw the other two, both of them laughing and Izzy arched a brow when she saw her brother in the drama department.  _ That was unexpected.  _ But then she glanced at Magnus and suddenly Alec being in there made a lot more sense. 

‘’Alec, what are you doing here?’’ asked Izzy.

‘’Looking for you, you’re late,’’ complained Alec and Izzy snorted.

‘’Oh my God, you’re Alec Lightwood,’’ said Simon by the side and Alec tried not to roll his eyes. In the end he just nodded and then wondered what was going to happen next. He sounded like a fan and Alec started backing away because he didn’t like that look in Simon’s eyes and he looked over at Izzy, begging for help. Izzy grinned and then stepped closer to Alec. ‘’Oh, I’m so not used to be around popular people,’’ said Simon and Magnus gave him an offended look. Magnus was also what you’d consider  _ popular.  _

‘’I’m not popular,’’ argued Alec because he really disliked the attention that came with being on the team and being one of the best players that the school had. He just liked sports, that was all.

‘’Dude, are you kidding me?’’ asked Simon. ‘’You’re like  _ huge _ ,’’ he carried on. ‘’Everyone knows you and-’’

‘’Okay, Simon,’’ said Izzy and then giggled. ‘’I think that’s enough for today,’’ she said and signed Mangus that he should probably drag the over-excited teen from around them. Magnus gave her a little nod and a wink and started dragging Simon away, who still had a million questions, which were going to have to wait for another occasion. Isabelle was laughing and then she just shook her head and signed Alec that they should be better leaving. Once outside the school, Alec decided that it was okay to ask questions.

‘’Lewis is annoying,’’ complained Alec as they were walking home.

‘’Yeah?’’ asked Izzy and then shrugged. ‘’I don’t know, I think he’s kind of cute,’’ said she commented and Alec looked at her. Izzy grinned - was he judging her? ‘’Hey, if he’s not your type that doesn’t mean he can’t be mine,’’ said Izzy softly, quietly as well and Alec felt his heart beating much faster, but then he nodded.  _ Right, he could discuss things like that with Izzy now.  _

‘’You have weird taste, sis,’’ commented Alec and Izzy laughed.

‘’Oh, come on,’’ said Izzy and then crossed her arms on top of her chest. ‘’Then describe your type then,’’ she said and Alec looked down, his cheeks red and he just shrugged it off.

‘’I don’t know,’’ said Alec. 

‘’Sure you do,’’ said Izzy playfully.

‘’No,’’ said Alec, trying to deflect the question. ‘’Now it makes sense why you joined the drama club,’’ teased Alec and his cheeky smile was back. ‘’You wanted to try out a new thing, huh,’’ he carried on teasing his sister and Izzy flushed just a little bit and she just shook her head.

‘’It’s not like that.’’

‘’Oh, sure,’’ said Alec and winked.

‘’Alec, no,’’ said Izzy.

‘’Alec, yes,’’ replied the older one back and Izzy just started laughing. As much as she didn’t like Alec teasing her, she was glad to see her brother like that - carefree and just smiling, laughing… just like when they were younger.

* * *

Thunderstorms scared Magnus ever since he was a little boy. Not much changed since then and on days like this, when he was completely alone, it was especially hard. Asmodeus was still in the office, so that left Magnus alone in the house and no matter if he was much older now, it still freaked him out. He was good if he had someone around him, but when he was alone like this, he was quite terrified. Usually Asmodeus was with him and Magnus had just gotten from a phone call with his dad, who was calling in to check up on his son - he knew how much the teen was afraid of thunderstorms, so he needed to make sure. Magnus kept a brave face in front of his dad because he didn’t want him to worry, but afterwards, his mood started spiraling out of control.

Magnus was biting his nails, walking around the living room and was trying to collect himself a little bit. ‘’I’ll be fine, it’s okay,’’ said Magnus and then placed his hands together, going closer to the window and then he huffed. So far, so good - it was just wind and rain. But then a lightning illuminated the dark sky, which was followed by a loud bang and Magnus flinched and quickly jumped back. He didn’t like feeling like this - he liked to be in control and this was one of those times that he  _ couldn’t.  _ It was just an irrational fear of his and he didn’t know how to get past it. ‘’Fuck,’’ mumbled Magnus because there was another loud bang and he quickly reached for his phone. The first person on his mind was Archer. He wrote down the first thing that came to his mind and quickly pressed send.

**magnus.bane:** Can I call you? Please, it’s an emergency. I need you. 

Alec was sitting by the window of his room when the text arrived and his heart sunk when he saw Magnus’ texts. He didn’t know what happened, but it sounded serious and he bit into his lip, quickly calling Magnus himself because he was worried as hell - what if something serious happened? His heart was beating like crazy and Magnus flinched when his phone suddenly started ringing. He felt a bit better when he saw that his Archer was calling him and he took in a deep breath, quickly pressing the reply button. ‘’Magnus?’’ asked Alec. ‘’Are you okay, where are you? Did something happen?’’ asked Alec, gripping on his phone, trying to remember to keep his voice down, but he was  _ on the edge!  _

Magnus was far too shaken up to recognise the voice at the time and he quickly backed away from the window and made his way to the couch, sitting down and he took in a deep breath. Archer sounded worried. ‘’H-hi,’’ muttered Magnus, his voice shaking.  _ He sounded afraid and upset.  _ ‘’I-I’m really sorry for making you worried, but-but I really needed someone and-’’ he started, but then the rumbling outside was getting louder and his voice trailed off. ‘’ _ Crap. _ ’’

‘’Magnus, what is going on?’’ asked Alec.

‘’Thunderstorm,’’ muttered Magnus and swallowed thickly. ‘’I’m-I’m terrified of them. I know it’s weird, I, I just, I don’t know,’’ he rambled and then made a pause. Alec felt a bit relieved, but then he nodded. It didn’t sound weird at all, he didn’t like them either. ‘’I usually just need someone to talk to and I-I’m fine,’’ he said and then looked down. ‘’I’m sorry.’’

‘’Thunderstorms suck,’’ said Alec and Magnus was in a better mood already. ‘’Never like them. Hate them now,’’ said Alec. ‘’They’re evil if they make you afraid, so,’’ said Alec, feeling his cheeks heat up and Magnus chuckled and then he nodded. They were evil and he gulped, slowly sinking back against the soft couch and he then smiled a bit more. ‘’Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,’’ said Alec and Magnus chuckled.

‘’My hero,’’ mumbled Magnus and Alec smiled even more.

‘’Barely,’’ said Alec.

‘’Not true, you’re my hero,’’ said Magnus and then sighed in relief. He thought he was over it, but then the bang outside was so loud that it literally made the glass of the window shake and he flinched, gasped and covered his mouth because he didn’t really want to reveal just how much of a scaredy cat he was. But Alec could hear it all and he pressed his lips together. 

‘’Magnus?’’

‘’Shit.’’

‘’No, it’s okay, you’re fine,’’ said Alec, raising his voice again and he quickly bit his tongue.  _ Right, he needed to keep it on the low _ . He cleared his throat and then spoke up again. ‘’Hey, listen to me,’’ said Alec softly and Magnus nodded. ‘’Still here with me?’’ asked Alec and Magnus took in a deep breath.

‘’Yes, I am, sorry, it’s just-’’

‘’I’ve got you, Magnus, it’s okay,’’ said Alec and his cheeks were getting red. It wasn’t like him to be saying things like that out loud and he was nervous as fuck, but it was working. Magnus’ smile was back and it took Magnus a little bit, but he managed to calm down just a little bit. 

‘’Ugh, I’m a mess,’’ said Magnus and huffed.

‘’A hot mess,’’ said Alec. Magnus started laughing and he bit his lip. 

‘’If you say so,’’ teased Magnus. 

‘’Oh, I know so,’’ said Alec and his smile was up to his ears. He was just glad to hear Magnus finally calming down and he walked over to his bed and then laid down. ‘’So, what are you up to now?’’ asked Alec and Magnus looked towards the kitchen.

‘’I should be cooking dinner, but,’’ said Magnus and looked down. 

‘’Oh, fun,’’ said Alec and heard that Magnus was again feeling bad. He was going to fix that soon! ‘’And what will you be making?’’

‘’Oh, um, just some pasta, nothing really fancy I mean-’’

‘’I love pasta,’’ said Alec and Magnus chuckled. ‘’And pancakes, never miss a pancake day,’’ said Alec and Magnus bit his lip.

‘’Pancake day?’’

‘’Oh, is a family tradition that my mom and dad made,’’ said Alec and Magnus was laughing along. ‘’Every Sunday morning we have some, mom makes the best ones ever. Also pumpkin pie, delicious,’’ said Alec and Magnus was giggling. It was nice to hear Archer talk so much. Magnus was starting to realise that his voice was familiar after all. If he only-

‘’Any other food that you like?’’

‘’Oh, yes a bunch, why?’’

‘’I’m just making a list to see what you like for when I take you out on a date,’’ flirted Magnus and Alec sat up.

‘’You’re flirting again,’’ said Alec shyly.

‘’I indeed am. How am I doing?’’

‘’Amazing, I’m basically a puddle of goo,’’ said Alec and Magnus grinned.

"You're adorable, Archer, just adorable," said Magnus back and Alec bit his lip. The thunderstorm was still ongoing, but Magnus didn't even notice it anymore. His attention was fully with Archer and Alec was glad to hear Magnus sounding like his usual self - carefree and happy. He smiled because  _ he managed to make Magnus happy! _

"You're adorable," said Alec back, his voice barely audible and Magnus smiled. He said it so shyly! 

"I wish I could meet you in person," blurted Magnus out. He didn't even mean to say it, it sort of just came out and Alec took in a sharp breath and his heart was beating faster because he didn't really know what to say - he wished for the same, but he still… Alec bit his lip and held in his breath. Magnus tensed up at the sudden silence and he glanced down. "I mean when you're ready, of course," said Magnus, quickly back paddling and Alec knew that he needed to say something.  _ They've already met in person.  _ "And if you even want to, I mean-"

"Of course I want," said Alec quickly and Magnus smiled. "I want to… so much, but I just, ugh," said Alec and shook his head. "I would love to take you to prom," said Alec then and Magnus perked up and then bit his lip.  _ Archer wanted to take him to prom! Him! Already was thinking about it!  _ Magnus' heart sped up and his cheeks were hurting from smiling so much.

"Are you asking me to prom?"

"If-if you don't have anyone already to go with," said Alec and looked down. "I mean of course you probably have, I mean you're Magnus Bane so you probably got asked more than once and-"

"I'd love to," said Magnus and Alec stopped talking. "People have asked me, yes, but I haven't said yes to anyone yet," said Magnus and then made a little pause. "I was waiting for someone special to ask me," said Magnus playfully.

"Me?" blurted out Alec.

"Maybe?"

"Good thing I asked then," said Alec and laughed softly. "I-I hope that, um, I'll be out by then," said Alec and Magnus sighed.

"It's still months from now," said Magnus and grinned. "Just take it slowly, no need to rush it, remember?"

"Yeah," said Alec and then sighed happily. "Fuck, I like you so much," said Alec and Magnus barely contained his heart from jumping out of his chest.

"I like you too," finally said Magnus back and Alec's whole week was made.  _ He was on fire.  _ Also! He had a date for the prom! And Magnus? The thunderstorm didn't get to him anymore. It was all forgotten as he carried on chatting with Archer for a little longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for suggesting the dance scene codenamepenguin. ❤it's absolutely adorable. I hope you liked it 😊


	7. Chapter 7

“Dude, you’re never gonna believe what happened,” said Jace and Alec glanced over at his brother. The two of them were again on speaking terms - to some degree - and Alec only arched a brow, which told Jace to continue his little speech. The two of them were standing in line in the cafeteria. It was lunch period and Alec was starving - he couldn’t wait to finally get some food in him, but at the same time, he knew that he shouldn’t expect too much from their cafeteria. It was usually very  _ not _ edible food and he huffed under his breath and then glanced over at Jace, who seemed very excited. “I already have a date for the prom,” said Jace proudly and Alec whistled, but was smiling on the inside.  _ He was faster than Jace this time around!  _ The only question was if he was going to be ready until then to finally approach Magnus and ask him out in person.  _ But in theory he already had a date and he couldn’t wait to rub it into Jace’s face.  _ He was going to be probably very excited and Alec just grinned, but still asked.

“Who are you taking?” asked Alec.

“Clary,” said Jace and Alec nodded. Right, she was his girlfriend, so it was obvious that he was taking her. “I asked her today and she said yes,” said Jace and heard a whistle from the back. Alec looked around and then rolled his eyes when he saw  _ Raj.  _ Raj was the same age as them and Alec disliked him with a passion. They were on the team together and the other teen was trying to kiss up to him for years now, but Alec never liked him. He was rude and just a douchebag through and through. Also pretty stupid - Alec had to get along with him for the sake of the coach, but he if he could, he would gladly slap him silly. He deserved it and he just gritted his teeth and then turned around, trying to ignore him the best way that he could, but he knew that Raj was somehow going to slyther his way into their conversation - he always did that. He didn’t have many friends, so he tried to force himself in conversations and it was honestly the most annoying thing  _ ever.  _

“Oh, that’s great, Jace,” said Alec and Jace arched a brow and then rubbed the back of his head. Alec didn’t sound too  _ happy _ for him. Was it because he didn’t have anyone to go with yet? Oh, Jace shrugged it off and promised himself to help Alec out with that. He was going to be the best wingman out there and he was going to get Alec any girl that he wanted!  _ He was always a supportive brother - well, he was trying to be.  _ And since they only recently started talking again, Jace was going to make an effort.

“Worry not, Alec, you’ll soon have a date to the prom as well,” said Jace and placed an arm around Alec’s shoulder. Alec glanced at him and gave him one of the most offended looks that he could ever muster. Was Jace looking down on him? He wrinkled his nose and then removed Jace’s arm away from his shoulder and just pressed his lips together and then crossed his arms on top of his chest. Alec looked angry and offended and Jace groaned - what did he do now?! “Now what?” asked Jace and Alec just took in a deep breath and then reminded himself to stay  _ calm. _ He didn’t want to fight again, but Jace was making it very impossible for him.

“I already asked someone,” mumbled Alec and Jace perked up.

“You  _ what _ ?” asked Jace and his eyes widened.

“Yeah,” said Alec and then smiled a little bit when he remembered his conversation with Magnus and then he ducked his head down a little bit because his heart started beating much faster and his cheeks reddened just a little bit.  _ He still couldn’t believe that he was going on the prom with Magnus!  _ He was so excited and that gave him extra motivation to actually come out and he cleared his throat - he wanted to do it before heading off to collage. He could feel that Jace’s eyes were on him and he just knew that he was going to ask him who he was taking, but he wasn’t telling. Alec chuckled because he already knew just how annoyed Jace was going to be and he just huffed. “Jace, you’re gonna drill holes into my head if you keep staring like this,” whined Alec because he didn’t like the attention and Jace just took in a deep breath.

“Well, when were you gonna tell me that you’ve already asked someone?” asked Jace excitedly and Alec just shrugged. “So, come on, who is it?” asked Jace and Alec averted his eyes because he didn’t really wanna keep eye-contact with Jace. “Dude, you can’t just drop something like that and then  _ not _ tell me who it is,” said Jace and then stepped in front of Alec. “Not fair, I told you who I’m taking,” said Jace and Alec rolled his eyes again and then he just shook his head.

“Not telling,” said Alec.

“Why?” whined Jace and then pressed his lips together. “Oh, are you taking someone from the nerd team?” asked Jace, thinking that maybe Alec was embarrassed about his date, but then again Alec said that he was the one that asked them, so he didn’t get it.  _ Why wouldn’t he want to tell him?!  _ Alec gave Jace an angry look - Jace was very… judgemental when it came to looks, it was one of those things that really rubbed Alec the wrong way. Jace was very shallow, which went hand in hand to the jock stereotype. 

“No,” said Alec. “And stop being so shallow, Jace,” said Alec and then Jace only rolled his eyes.

“Then you should tell me,” said Jace.

“I bet he’s taking someone ugly,” said a voice behind them and Alec turned around and gritted his teeth and saw that it was Raj. Again. Sticking his nose into other people’s business and he just shuddered, but tried to tune him out. It wasn’t working. “Fray’s hot, maybe his date isn’t-”

“My date is plenty hot,” said Alec defensively. “And you should worry more about who you’ll be taking because with that kind of attitude everyone will be running away from you, Raj,” said Alec. “I mean they already are,” said Alec under his breath. Raj couldn’t hear him, but Jace sure could and he snorted. Just like Alec, Jace also couldn’t stand Raj, though he could stomach him a little bit more, but barely.

“You’re right,” said Raj and then grinned. “Hey, Lightwood, how about you ask your sister if she would want to go with me, huh? She’s hot as fuck and-”

“Say that again and you’ll be picking your teeth off of the ground,” said Alec, forming a fist with his hand. Alec was most protective when it came to his sister and he was going to knock all teeth out of Raj’s mouth if he was even going to  _ look _ at his sister in the wrong way. Raj just rolled his eyes and then started bitching, but Alec managed to tune him out that time. Jace continued arguing with him and after a few more threats Raj finally stopped, but Alec was going to keep his eyes on Raj. One wrong move and he was going to be running.

* * *

Alec was finished with school early that day even though it was Friday. Practice was cancelled because the teacher had placed to be at, so Alec was free and he was looking forward to that freedom. Jace had a date with Clary, Max was still in school, his parents were going to be still at work and Izzy had drama class -  _ that left Alec completely alone at the house and he couldn’t wait to spend some time alone.  _ Sure, he was a lot locked up in his room and enjoying his solitude alone, but nothing beat having the whole house to yourself. He was going to make best of the few hours that he had left and he was just… happy! Yes, he was  _ happy,  _ home was soon on the horizon and he practically threw his things into his backpack and then he already headed over to the exit, when he was stopped in his tracks.

Alec was just about to step out of the school when someone called out his name and Alec jumped because he could recognise that voice  _ everywhere.  _ It was no other than Magnus and Alec bit his lip as he slowly turned around because what was going on now?! Magnus was supposed to be in  _ drama class!  _ No? And why was he coming over to him? Alec’s heart was beating faster and he quickly looked down - oh, no, did he finally figure it out? To be honest, it wasn’t that hard to figure it out now and Alec was kind of surprised that Magnus didn’t know it was him already. Yes, he was trying to keep his voice down, but it was still easy to figure it all out. Their school wasn’t even that big, so- Alec gulped and then quickly forced on a little smile, his face red and he huffed under his breath. 

Magnus indeed had to have drama class that day, but it was cancelled. Most of the teacher had an afternoon seminar, which left most of the after school activities cancelled and that was why Magnus decided to make the best of the situation. He and Izzy made plans that they would be studying their lines together for the play as they had a lot of them together. Also, Magnus was still helping Isabelle with catching up to everything as she wasn’t present in the club since the beginning of the year and she had a lot to catch up to. She and Magnus made plans to meet up at Izzy’s place, but she had just texted him that she was going to be a bit late probably and told him that he should just go ahead and go to her place, wait for her there. Apparently Alec was going to be already home, so he decided to listen. And much to his luck, he caught Alec right as he was about to leave the school.

‘’Magnus!’’ piped Alec up and then clasped his hands together, trying to act as casual as it was possible, slowly stepping through the door and Magnus followed. ‘’Um, is-is there something wrong?’’ asked Alec and his heart was beating too, too fast for his liking. But he was afraid that maybe Magnus had figured it out and he was there to confront him - that fear was always present when he would run into Magnus. It was getting really dangerous and Alec gulped.  _ He needed to come clean about it soon, it was about time!  _ Still, he wanted to be the one to tell Magnus and not have him figure it out before that, but his time was running out and he knew that very well.

‘’Oh, not at all,’’ said Magnus and gave the jock a little smile. ‘’You’re heading home, right?’’ asked Magnus and Alec nodded, arching a brow. That was sort of a weird question and he just held in his breath when Magnus stepped closer to him and their eyes locked.  _ Magnus’ eyes were pretty, dark and warm and just so beautiful. It was as if they were shining, they were two little stars and Alec could gaze into them forever.  _ He quickly snapped out of it and he forced himself to look away and Magnus cocked his head to the side. The jock was acting kind of jumpy, no?

‘’Yep, I’m going home,’’ said Alec.

‘’Great, I’m headed there as well,’’ said Magnus and Alec’s eyes widened.  _ Magnus was heading over to his place?!  _ Alec bit his lip and then he started looking around because he kind of expected Izzy to be there as well as she was the only reason for why Magnus should be coming over, but she wasn’t there.  _ Maybe it wasn’t because of her, but because Magnus had figured it out and he now wanted them to talk in a more private setting!  _

‘’Um, but, why?’’ blurted Alec out as he couldn’t really think before talking. That ability was taken away from him because of how Magnus was standing  _ close.  _ He was standing close. Not really, but it was close to Alec and he was barely keeping himself together. 

‘’Oh,’’ said Magnus and laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. Yes, the way he worded it sounded a bit sketchy, didn’t it? Their relationship was still rocky - friendship, perhaps? They got along pretty well, but Magnus didn’t know if they were close enough to call Alec a friend. ‘’Our drama club got cancelled and Izzy and I thought that we would take that time to learn our lines, plus I have to give her a few more tips when it comes to her acting,’’ said Magnus and then made a little pause. ‘’But she’s running late, I think she’s with Simon,’’ snorted Magnus and Alec nodded and then he shuddered because  _ that meant that he and Magnus were going to be heading over to their place alone. Together. Alone with Magnus. Just them.  _

‘’I, um-’’

‘’Your sister said to go ahead and wait for her at your place because she said you’d be already home and, well,’’ said Magnus, shrugging. ‘’That’s what I was going to do,’’ he said. ‘’Since I ran into you, we can head over to your house together?’’ offered Magnus and Alec bit his lip and slowly nodded. Yes, that sounded completely logical, yes. Alec’s head was spinning, though, and he just tried to play it off completely cool, biting his lip and he then just nodded. Again. Ugh, he couldn’t act natural at all! He was like a robot again and he hated himself so much!

‘’Sure, y-yeah, you can wait for Iz with me,’’ said Alec in the end because he didn’t want to appear rude and Magnus smiled. His smile could melt icebergs, literally! It melted the one around Alec’s heart and it was also melting other parts of Alec. 

‘’Amazing,’’ said Magnus, trying to not think of the awkwardness between them. They didn’t have much to talk about and he then took in a deep breath and pointed at Alec. ‘’You lead the way?’’ asked Magnus and Alec nodded.

‘’Sure,’’ said Alec and then glanced down.  _ This wasn’t going to end well. It was as if Izzy knew what she was doing -  _ was it on purpose?!

* * *

Magnus and Alec didn’t talk much as they were walking back to the Lightwood residence. Alec was trying not to stare at Magnus too much and Magnus was just thinking about something to say, but he got nothing. Alec didn’t really give him much to work with, so in the end he just came with the terms that the two of them just didn’t have all that much in common, so silence it was going to be. Alec was kind of closed off kind of guy, so Magnus wasn’t going to push it. It was obvious that he didn’t want to talk to him, so Magnus respected that even though he was kind of confused.  _ Still.  _ Better silence than arguing. 

Alec barely managed to unlock the door of the front door, he was so nervous and he let Magnus inside first, then following him and he was looking around and was just trying to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth. ‘’Um,’’ said Alec and Magnus glanced at him. They were standing in the hallway and Alec was trying to make himself useful somehow. ‘’Let’s go to the living room?’’ asked Alec and Magnus only nodded and sat down on the couch. Alec did as well and he then glanced in front of himself and his heart was about to jump out of his chest.  _ This was unreal. Magnus was in his house and they were alone. Just them, in the house.  _ Alec’s brain was fried. 

Magnus felt uneasy. He didn’t know why, but the jock seemed to be acting kind of jumpy and he didn’t want Alec to feel uneasy because of him. Maybe he should have waited for Izzy at school and then come over with her. This was very awkward and Magnus was just looking around and he truly didn’t know what to do. He hoped that Izzy was coming over soon. ‘’I wonder if your sister is coming soon,’’ said Magnus and Alec quickly jumped on his feet.

‘’I’ll go call her!’’ he said and quickly left the living room, going into the kitchen so that he could call her alone. Magnus blinked a few times and then just shook his head.  _ The jock didn’t seem too happy to see him there.  _ Magnus really couldn’t figure him out. Alec, on the other hand, literally ran towards the kitchen and quickly called Izzy because he needed to know when she was coming home! His heart wasn’t going to handle being alone with Magnus much longer! Alec took in a deep breath and then called Izzy, who happened to pick up right away.

‘’ _ Alec? _ ’’

‘’Iz!’’ shrieked Alec and then closed the door and lowered his voice. ‘’Iz, when are you coming back home?’’ asked Alec, walking around the kitchen in circles and was trying to breathe and calm down. 

‘’ _ Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, Magnus will be coming over _ ,’’ said Izzy and Alec could hear that she wasn’t alone.  _ ‘’I’ll be home soon, I just need to do some, um, I need to… well, Simon and I are talking and, well, I just-’’ _

‘’No shit, Sherlock, Magnus is here,’’ hissed Alec and then took in a deep breath. ‘’Come. Home. Lew can wait," said Alec as he was panicking and he then took in a deep breath. He knew that his sister liked Simon, but at the same time he needed her to be home.  _ What was he supposed to do alone with Magnus?!  _ "Iz!" whined Alec and then bit his lip, peeking outside and he then huffed. Magnus was still sitting there but he looked extremely bored  _ and annoyed.  _ Fuck! 

" _ Alec, don't panic. I'll be home soon. I'm really sorry," _ she said and really did sound apologetic so Alec couldn't really hold it against her. " _ I'll be there in like half an hour. Okay?" _

"Half an hour!" shrieked Alec - that sounded like an eternity and he shook his head. No, no. His sister needed to come home sooner! "What am I supposed to do with Magnus for half an hour? We're alone and I don't even know what to talk about with him," said Alec, stressed as hell. "I'm stressed as hell, sis! Do something, fix this!" said Alec and he swore that he heard Izzy laughing. Well, not laughing, but there was a  _ giggle.  _ "Don't you dare to laugh at me," said Alec and pressed his lips together.

" _ I'm not,"  _ said Izzy and sighed. " _ Offer Magnus something to drink for starters and then maybe talk?"  _

"About?!"

" _ Stuff, _ " said Izzy and Alec rolled his eyes.

"Wow, you're not helping at all," said Alec and took in a deep breath. 

" _ Just stop stressing, okay? All will be okay. Look, I have to go but I promise I'll be home soon! Bye, I can't-" _

"Izzy, don't hang up,’’ said Alec. ‘’I swear to God, if you dare to hang up on me, I’ll-’’ he carried on, but then the phone call ended and Alec’s panic skyrocketed. He took in a deep breath and then he tucked his phone away again and then rubbed his palms together.  _ Okay, he could do this, he could entertain Magnus somehow without making a complete ass out of himself, somehow!  _ ‘’Okay, yes, let’s offer Magnus something to drink,’’ said Alec and opened up the fridge. But there was a question - what to offer? His eyes glanced over to the beer in there and then he looked over to the door. Alec wasn’t much of a drinker, but he didn’t want Magnus to think that he was a loser, so he took out two beer bottles and then placed them on the counter. Or would it be too much? Maybe he should go for water instead? Maybe juice? Or tea? Coffee?! ‘’Maybe better if I ask,’’ said Alec and then hurried over to Magnus again.

Magnus sighed as he was waiting in the living room alone and he checked up on his phone to see if his Archer decided to text him, but  _ no.  _ There was nothing in there and he pouted. He was about to send a text over to the other, but then Alec stepped through the door and Magnus quickly placed his phone back into his pocket and looked up. ‘’Yes?’’ he asked and Alec started contemplating what to tell Magnus.

‘’Izzy says she’ll be here soon,’’ said Alec and Magnus nodded. ‘’Um, would you like something to drink?’’ asked Alec happily, his heart beating fast and he was feeling excited because he had much different things to offer. 

‘’No, I’m good,’’ said Magnus and Alec’s heart sunk.

‘’Oh,’’ said Alec and then looked down. Magnus almost felt bad for refusing  _ a drink.  _ He arched his brow and then he clicked with his tongue. Alec seemed sad and Magnus just smiled and then shrugged.

‘’Maybe a cup of water?’’ asked Magnus in the end and Alec perked up and quickly nodded.

‘’Ye-yes, coming right up,’’ said Alec happily and then tried to casually walk over to the kitchen, but his walking looked a lot like running and Magnus chuckled again.  _ Adorable, in a way.  _ Magnus quickly shook his head and then took in a deep breath. Archer was adorable,  _ Archer!  _ Still, he was glad to see that Alec was slowly acting less like a robot and he smiled. ‘’Here!’’ said Alec as he was back pretty much right away and he shook because when he handed the glass to Magnus, their fingers touched and he flinched, but quickly sat down and he couldn’t contain his happiness.

And again, silence. Alec looked down and sighed. At this rate he’d never actually ask Magnus out on the prom officially.  _ He was going to bore him too much and Magnus was going to run away before that was going to happen!  _

‘’I’m sorry, I’m boring,’’ said Alec suddenly and Magnus turned to him.

‘’Not at all,’’ said Magnus and then bit his lip. ‘’I guess we just don’t have much in common,’’ said Magnus. ‘’So you shouldn’t-’’

‘’My people skills suck,’’ said Alec and then leaned back in the couch.  _ Not many things in common?  _ But when they chatted over Instagram it was far easier. Alec was disappointed in himself. Magnus could feel the other’s struggle, so he decided to jump in and show that his  _ people skills _ didn’t suck. People skills, adorable. 

‘’So,’’ said Magnus. ‘’Being a jock must be quite cool, huh?’’ 

Alec turned to him and shook his head. ‘’Eh,’’ said Alec. ‘’It’s cool only because I get to to do sports, but,’’ he said and shuddered. ‘’You then have to deal with you other team members,’’ he said and stuck his tongue out. ‘’And I don’t really like people,’’ he said and then shook his head.  _ Magnus was people, he liked him very much!  _ He needed to correct himself! ‘’I like some people,’’ he said quickly and Magnus arched his brow. ‘’I mean most of my team consists out of jerks,’’ he said and Magnus hummed and then nodded in agreement.

‘’No offense, but I, yeah, jocks and I are like water and oil - we don’t mix well,’’ joked Magnus. ‘’But you’re cool,’’ he quickly added and Alec turned around, but the smile on his lips was bright and he bit his lip because he didn’t want to be smiling too much. Kind of impossible when he had Magnus complimenting him like that though!

‘’Thanks,’’ said Alec softly. ‘’Um,’’ he said and then glanced at Magnus. ‘’And how are things at the, um, drama club?’’ asked Alec and Magnus smiled when he saw that the jock was making an effort in trying to get to know him a bit better. Magnus appreciated then and he just shrugged.

‘’It’s, you know, going,’’ said Magnus softly. ‘’Teacher’s kind of a pain in the ass, but,’’ he said. ‘’It’s going,’’ he said and Alec nodded. He could relate, the coach was hard on them as well, but because he wanted them to have a good opportunity later in life. That and he wanted their team to win, of course. That was kind of the whole point. Biting his lip, Magnus then took a sip of the water and glanced back at Alec - the jock was staring at him again and he cleared his throat. ‘’Good water,’’ he said as he didn’t know what else to say. Alec quickly jumped and then looked away.

‘’Right,’’ said Alec and then contemplated what else to say. ‘’Should I bring us some snacks?’’ asked Alec and Magnus shook his head.

‘’Oh, you really don’t have to,’’ said Magnus. ‘’I mean, I’m-’’

‘’You sure?’’ asked Alec. ‘’Half an hour is a long time and, well,’’ he said and glanced at the clock. ‘’I’m kind of hungry, so you might as well join me,’’ he said and Magnus chuckled, but because he didn’t want to be rude, he just nodded and Alec happily smiled. ‘’Sit and I’ll, um, get us something,’’ said Alec and Magnus just nodded. As Alec was working around the kitchen, trying to remember what Magnus liked best, Magnus decided to send a text to Archer anyway. He was probably missing him - Magnus sure as hell missed him.

**magnus.bane:** Hello, my Archer ;) How have you been this day? It’s been a long day, I’m visiting my friend again, but I’m free to talk. I hope you’re doing good today as well. Missing you a lot.

**magnus.bane:** Also, I made an interesting discovery today - some jocks are still pretty cool! I guess I’ve been wrong.

**magnus.bane:** Hope to hear from you soon <3.

As Magnus sent the three texts in a row, Alec’s phone buzzed  _ three times in a row.  _ Alec jumped because he turned around and saw that Magnus was texting and he gulped - it was Magnus, texting him. Magnus also heard Alec’s phone buzzing and he narrowed his eyes. Huh, kind of weird… weird coincidence for sure, right? ‘’Someone texting you?’’ asked Magnus curiously and Alec laughed nervously.

‘’Yeah, um,’’ he said and pulled out his phone. ‘’Yep, someone sent me texts, yep,’’ said Alec and then quickly tucked his phone back into his pocket, turning around and was trying to breathe.  _ Normally.  _ It was nothing to get panicked about - if he acted normal then Magnus wasn’t going to think of it too much. 

‘’Right,’’ said Magnus and rubbed the back of his head.  _ It was just coincidence, right?  _ Yeah, there was no way actually! Magnus almost laughed at ho ridiculous his idea sounded and he shook his head, trying to think of something else. ‘’So, what are you preparing, chef?’’ asked Magnus playfully and Alec rubbed the back of his neck.

‘’I wanted to prepare French toast, but then I remembered that I don’t know how to make one,’’ said Alec and placed his hands on top of his sides. ‘’I’m not much of a chef, sadly,’’ said Alec and laughed. Magnus perked up and he then smiled -  _ French toast?  _ It was one of his favourite dishes and Alec just happened to know that? Magnus narrowed his eyes and then quickly shook his head. 

‘’Alec, you don’t have to,’’ said Magnus and felt bad about it. ‘’Can a French toast even be considered as a snack?’’ asked Magnus playfully and Alec hummed and then tapped his lips with his finger.

‘’True,’’ said Alec. ‘’I just wanted to prepare something yummy,’’ said Alec.

‘’And you just happened to know that French toast is my favourite food?’’ asked Magnus and Alec froze up. Magnus chuckled and then sighed. ‘’Did Izzy tell you before when you called her?’’ he asked and Alec gulped, but didn’t reply.  _ Lying to Magnus was something that he didn’t want to do.  _ ‘’Relax, it’s okay, you don’t have to go through all this trouble,’’ said Magnus softly and Alec pressed his lips together.

‘’It’s not trouble,’’ said Alec and then turned around, only then realising that Magnus was there next to him.  _ Very close, much closer than before.  _ ‘’Really, not a trouble at all,’’ he added and then bit his lip. 

Magnus smiled. ‘’I’m having a really hard time in figuring you out,’’ laughed Magnus.

‘’Huh?!’’

‘’It’s just,’’ said Magnus and made a pause. ‘’I don’t know how to explain it, but,’’ he said and then glanced down. ‘’It’s just, you seem so nervous around me and I can’t for the life of me figure out why,’’ said Magnus and Alec flinched. ‘’See, this is what I mean,’’ said Magnus. ‘’Just, chill,’’ said Magnus and Alec’s heart melted when Magnus smiled again.

‘’Okay,’’ breathed out Alec and took in a deep breath. ‘’Yeah, you’re right,’’ said Alec and then rubbed his palms together and then made a step back and nodded. ‘’Relax, right,’’ said Alec -  _ how was he supposed to relax when he was home alone with the guy that he was crushing on?!  _

‘’Good.’’

‘’Yes,’’ said Alec and then glanced over at the cupboard. ‘’So, how does popcorn sound like?’’ offered Alec and Magnus gave him a little nod.

‘’Lovely,’’ said Magnus. ‘’I’ll wait for you in the living room,’’ said Magnus and Alec nodded again. As Alec was prepping the popcorn, Magnus took a little tour around the living room and made quite the discovery at the bookcase. There were a few framed family photos and Magnus smiled when he saw Izzy and Alec as kids, his eyes travelling around the photos and one of them in particular got his attention. There was Alec, holding a bow and a quiver, looking all composed and Magnus’ eyes widened.  _ Alec did archery?  _ ‘’You do archery?’’ asked Magnus and Alec peeked from the kitchen.

‘’I dabble, yes,’’ said Alec. ‘’I mean, uh, it’s a hobby?’’ 

‘’Oh, cool,’’ said Magnus and as he turned around it was like a switch has gotten off -  _ hold on a second!  _ Magnus quickly pulled out his phone and there were still no messages from Archer. Usually he always replied right away. He was awfully quiet that day in particular and Magnus gulped, glancing back at the kitchen and he then covered his lips. Magnus slowly made his way over to the couch, sitting down and his heart was hammering against his ribcage.

Alec went to the same school as him.

Alec was the same age as him.

Alec had plenty siblings.

Alec was jumpy around him.

Alec got flustered around him.

Alec knew his favourite food.

Alec’s phone buzzed exactly three times before when he sent the texts before.

Alec’s hobby was archery.

To be honest now that Magnus thought about it, their voices were the same too, though Archer was always kind of half whispering, but still.

Alec was a jock, so he would have a good reason to be hiding his sexuality and struggling to come out.

Just to be sure, Magnus sent another text to Archer and Alec’s phone made a sound and Magnus rubbed the back of his neck.  _ It couldn’t be just another coincidence again, could it? There was no way it was another coincidence, there were too many coincidences at that point!  _

Truth be told he couldn’t believe he didn’t put the pieces together before! 

Alec was Archer, wasn’t he?


	8. Chapter 8

Alec was sitting in his room and was trying to figure out what was going on. Since the day that Magnus has come over to their house and they were home alone, Magnus was acting strange. He didn’t even know what he has done to make Magnus suddenly stop talking to him. That day, Izzy came home pretty much soon after Alec made their snacks and for some reason Magnus was very quiet. He didn’t even get to eat the snacks that he prepared for them, which put Alec in a bad mood, but he didn’t want to think of it too much, so he didn’t say anything. Besides, Magnus was there for  _ Izzy _ and not him, so it made sense that they left and went into her room. Still, that didn’t really stop Alec from feeling jealous, but still. All would be okay if Magnus talked to him over the Instagram normally, but for a few days now, Alec was getting the idea that Magnus was ignoring him and as the Archer he didn’t do anything wrong, did he? Alec pressed his lips together and then rubbed the back of his neck as he was reading through the texts from the last day. There was barely any.

Alec took in a deep breath and then scrolled all the way up since the day that Magnus was over and he just… what was wrong? Magnus seemed to be busy, at least he claimed that he was busy, but he would never tell him what he was busy with. Alec kind of figured that it was maybe drama club and that Magnus didn’t want to bore him with it, but it was just the opposite - Alec wished that Magnus would share with him more. Usually he would tell him  _ everything,  _ but now he completely shut him out and it hurt. Alec was sitting on his bed, his foot impatiently tapping against the floor and he held in his breath.  _ Maybe Magnus has gotten tired of him?  _ They’ve been chatting for over a month and Magnus still didn’t know who he was!

Of course, it made sense - Magnus wanted a real relationship, not this. It wasn’t the same and Alec felt his stomach dropping.  _ Was that it?  _ But just a week ago Magnus was telling him how much he liked him and now it was just all over? Alec felt as if someone punched him into his stomach and he then glanced down and shook his head. No, there had to be something more to it. Maybe Magnus was having some problems at home or at school? Alec wanted to help him out, because he worried about him. He liked Magnus so much and he didn’t want the other to completely shut him out, biting into his lip. Yet, he didn’t know what to write to him and he just rubbed his palms together. 

There was a little green dot next to Magnus’ name, which told him that he was online, but he wasn’t texting him. Usually as soon as Alec would notice that Magnus was online, he would also get a text back from him, but now it was nothing. Alec’s hands were shaky and he decided to pluck up the courage and just ask him because he couldn’t deal with it anymore. It would be easier if he just got the message loud and clear -  _ Magnus wasn’t interested, he has moved on.  _ It would be less painful than this - waiting and not knowing what happened. Alec quickly tapped on the text space and then started typing, trying to sound not too suspicious. He was going to take it chill, nice and slow. He couldn’t bombard Magnus with uncomfortable questions when he didn’t really know what was happening in his personal life. 

**NervousArcher:** Hello, Magnus, how are you doing today? Was school okay? I hope you don’t have much homework. Maybe if you’re free later, I could call you? I miss hearing your voice and chatting with you. I hope everything is okay. <3

Alec narrowed his eyes -  _ did that text sound too clingy?  _ Was it too much? Well, he still sent it and then waited for a long time, waiting for Magnus to open up the text and much to his luck, Magnus read his text. He could see the little icon telling him that Magnus has read his text and Alec then smiled.  _ Okay, it was just his imagination.  _ Everything was okay, he was just looking too much into it. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he waited and waited as he finally saw that Magnus started typing back. Finally! And judging by how long he was typing, Alec was looking forward to a long text, but instead he got something completely different and his heart dropped again, because this wasn’t like Magnus. At least not like he knew him.

**magnus.bane:** All’s good. I’m busy, can’t really talk.

“N-no, please,” said Alec and then bit his lip and stood up, walking around his room in circles. So, no he wasn’t just looking into it too much. Magnus has never refused the voice call and Alec’s mood was starting to worsen more and more. He was nervous, running his hands through his hair because he needed to ask. He needed to be up front and just ask Magnus what happened. If something happened in school, or at home. He needed to know. And if all of that wasn’t it, then it was his fault. He has somehow managed to make Magnus not like him anymore.

So, Alec typed back.

**NervousArcher:** Are you sure that everything is okay? Something happened in school?

That time Alec didn’t have to wait too long as Magnus’ text came back right away.

**magnus.bane:** No.

Just one word, no emoji, no nothing. Alec cursed again and then his hands started shaking eve more because it was all starting to seem that it was  _ his _ fault and nobody else’s. Fucking great, he somehow managed to completely fuck up the nice thing that he had going with Magnus. Magnus was his only source of happiness and if he was going to lose him then Alec didn’t know what he was going to do. Yes, he was being dramatic, but at the same time, Magnus was the only one that he felt comfortable talking about everything and losing that was going to hurt.

After Alec managed to collect himself enough, he decided to send a new text.

**NervousArcher:** And all’s good at home too?

**magnus.bane:** Yep.

“Then it’s me,” said Alec and everything felt as if it was falling apart. Asking it was going to hurt, but he still needed to know. Alec needed to know what he did wrong because he wanted to fix it. He wanted to make it right because it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair to just be treated like that without any explanation and he cleared his throat and then typed a new text. 

**NervousArcher:** Is it something I did? Are you angry with me?

Magnus was typing back, but then stopped and Alec never received a reply. “It’s me, I did something,” said Alec and then rubbed the back of his neck. Honestly, he felt like crying. He decided to ask more things because-

**NervousArcher:** So, it’s me. I did something to upset you. I’m sorry, Magnus, I didn’t mean to anger you. Can you please tell me what I’ve done because I wanna fix this. I miss you and I can’t handle you being angry at me. Just… I like you so much and you’re the only one I’m comfortable talking like this, so can you please just call me? I’m really, really sorry. I’ll make it up to you, I promise. I didn’t mean to hurt you, just please don’t ignore me, okay? I can’t lose you.

Alec was begging. Magnus didn’t reply.

**NervousArcher:** Do you hate me?

Again, no reply.

* * *

Magnus cursed and then locked the phone, looking away and he took in a deep breath. He was getting texts from Archer, well, Alec, but because he didn’t know what to make of the whole thing, he couldn’t bring himself to reply to him. He still wasn’t completely sure that Archer was Alec Lightwood, but all of the evidence was pointing at that and he didn’t know how to deal with that. It was definitely a lot to process through and he just needed some time for himself to figure it all out and he bit his lip. He needed to confront Archer and ask him head on, but he couldn’t. At least not yet as he didn’t know how he felt about Alec being Archer and he sighed sadly. But, he felt guilty.

Magnus considered that maybe this was some kind of a prank that the jocks were pulling on him and Alec was the one in charge of it, but he knew that it couldn’t be it. He had a feeling that every one of their conversations was real and that it wasn’t based on something evil - Alec wasn’t like the other jocks, that was for sure. Still, his past bad experiences with them were making it hard for him to just accept it all. Archer was begging him to get any kind of replies, but Magnus just didn’t know what to write back to him. And he could just imagine the sheer confusion and probably pain Archer was going through at the moment.  _ Ignoring problems was always easier than dealing with them.  _ Magnus puffed his cheeks and then glanced over at Catarina.

Magnus was over at Catarina’s, spending some time with her. Since he and Catarina were close, he told her everything. Not quite all, he didn’t know who the Archer truly was, but he told her that he managed to figure it out and that he didn’t know what to do. He hoped that maybe Catarina could give him some useful piece of advice. ‘’Man, that’s tough,’’ said Catarina and Magnus laughed bitterly.

‘’You don’t say,’’ said Magnus and then threw his phone inside of his backpack because he still wasn’t ready to deal with the Archer. He couldn’t just pretend that nothing happened when he managed to find out who he was. It just didn’t feel the same and the hard reality was going to have to be dealt with no matter what. He didn’t completely hate the idea of Alec being the Archer - after he gave it a thought he managed to figure out that they were quite alike. So, there wasn’t any kind of pretending going on from Archer’s side. He was just too nervous to actually tell him who he truly was. Probably Magnus telling Alec all about not liking jocks didn’t really help the situation. Magnus puffed his cheeks and then glanced at Catarina.

‘’And who’s the Archer?’’ asked Catarina curiously, Magnus shaking his head.

‘’I can’t tell you,’’ said Magnus and Catarina archer a brow. ‘’It wouldn’t be right, I would be outing him, which is wrong,’’ said Magnus and then clasped his hands together. ‘’I just, ugh, I don’t know what to do,’’ he said and then thought about it more. Maybe there were  _ some _ details that he could tell Catarina. ‘’I mean, he’s a jock,’’ said Magnus and Catarina’s eyes widened.  _ That made so much more sense now - why Magnus was having a hard time with accepting it all.  _

‘’Really?!’’ she asked and Magnus nodded. ‘’Ouch.’’

‘’I know,’’ grumbled Magnus and then glanced down and his phone buzzed again.  _ It was more texts from Archer, he could tell.  _ ‘’I mean I’m not a hundred percent sure that it’s him, but I’m pretty close to that and I,’’ he said and then made another little pause. ‘’I just need some time to think about it all,’’ he said and Catarina nodded. Of course, that made sense and Magnus bit his lip.

‘’Hey, take all the time that you need,’’ said Catarina and placed her hand on top of his shoulder. ‘’I mean, I can’t really relate to what you must be feeling now, but just so you know - you have my full support,’’ she said and Magnus smiled and gave her a little smile. ‘’But you’re gonna have to tell him eventually,’’ she said and Magnus shuddered and then he nodded.

‘’I know,’’ said Magnus. ‘’I just, I don’t know how to approach it,’’ he said and then he just shrugged. ‘’I can’t go on by ignoring him forever. I’ll just make things worse and I’ll hurt him even more,’’ he said and Catarina gave him a little smile. So, even if the truth was out about Archer… even though he was one of the jocks, Magnus still liked him and didn’t want to hurt him. ‘’I mean he didn’t really lie to me,’’ he said. ‘’At least I thought he didn’t,’’ said Magnus. ‘’I don’t know, I wish I was back at not knowing,’’ said Magnus. ‘’It was much easier,’’ said Magnus and Catarina gave him a little understanding smile.

‘’I know,’’ she said. Magnus pressed his lips together. He wanted to go back to the little bubble that they had - ignoring the outside world, not really caring who the other was, just them chatting, but no matter how he looked at it, that period was going to come to a halt and it seemed that it already was there. It was a month of pure happiness, filled with giggles and heart flutters. But it was time that things got a bit more serious and Magnus whined and then he just buried his face into his palms.

‘’Cat, tell me what to do,’’ said Magnus.

‘’I think there’s no way around, Magnus,’’ said Catarina and Magnus glanced up. ‘’You’re going to have to talk to him,’’ said Catarina and Magnus glanced down -  _ really?  _ Ugh. That was all that she was going to say? Magnus pressed his lips together and in the end he nodded because he knew that she was right. He was also being unfair by ignoring Archer like that. He was hurting his feelings and he didn’t want to do that. He didn’t want to make the situation worse and he just pressed his lips together.

‘’I know, I know,’’ said Magnus and then pulled out his phone to see what Archer has written to him and his heart broke a little bit because he could tell that Archer was desperate to get his attention. Magnus bit his lip and then he shuddered.  _ He did say that it didn’t matter to him who the person was, way before he got the other’s Instagram handle.  _ And… he still stood by that. 

Archer made his days with the little love quotes that he has been slipping through the vents of his locker. He has made his days by chatting to him and when it came down to it, it didn’t matter to Magnus who it truly was.  _ Still him being the jock was a hard pill to swallow.  _ But then again - Alec wasn’t like the others. Alec wasn’t rude as the others and seemed to genuinely care what Magnus thought of him. It didn’t make sense to him before why Alec was trying so hard to make a good impression, but now it did and he just glanced down at the phone again to read the rest of the texts. 

**NervousArcher:** Do you hate me?

**NervousArcher:** Please, I can deal with many things, but being hated by you isn’t one of them. Just tell me what I did wrong and I’ll fix it. I mean it. I’m sorry for being so annoying, but you mean a lot to me. Really. I haven’t felt like this about anyone before, you make me feel loved and important. 

**NervousArcher:** I’m really sorry.

**NervousArcher:** Am I being annoying? Probably. I’m sorry, I’ll stop texting you. I get the message. It’s okay. I’ll be fine. I’ll stop bothering you, I’m nothing but a bother anyway. I’m sorry for everything. 

‘’I’m an asshole,’’ said Magnus and covered his mouth -  _ just what has he done?  _

* * *

‘’Alec, do you mind helping me with my homewo-’’ asked Izzy, who stepped inside of Alec’s room. The door was slightly opened, so she took that as a sign that Alec wasn’t doing anything special. She didn’t knock and she just stepped inside, but she didn’t expect to find Alec sitting on his bed, sniffling and her eyes widened when she realised that her brother was crying. In panic, Alec quickly turned away and started wiping the tears away with the sleeve of his sweater and he hiccuped. ‘’Alec?’’ asked Izzy and quickly closed and locked the door and hurried over to her brother. 

‘’Need help with homework?’’ asked Alec and then tried his best to ignore the tears, but he couldn’t really get himself to feel better. He has been moping around in his room for the entire afternoon, he didn’t even start on his homework and he had a shit ton of it. But he was just in too bad of a mood to do actually anything else than to sit there gloomily in his room and wonder why Magnus decided to act like this all of the sudden.

‘’Forget homework, Alec, what happened?’’ asked Izzy and hurried over to Alec. ‘’Don’t even dare to pretend that everything’s okay, because I can quite clearly see you’ve been crying,’’ Izzy and Alec sniffled again and then took in a deep breath. ‘’Tell me, what happened? Did someone hurt you? I’ll claw their eyes out, my nails are just freshly sharpened and ready to strike,’’ said Izzy and Alec managed to smile, but the tears were still there.

‘’Always there to have my back, huh,’’ said Alec and then took in a deep breath. ‘’Don’t worry, I’ll be fine and-’’ he started, but then the look in Izzy’s eyes told him that he should come clean about it. Or maybe it was him, trying to see that as a sign to finally tell someone what’s been going on for a month now and he felt choked up again. He pressed his lips together and he then bit his lip, placing his hands together. Izzy could tell that he was trying to tell her something, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Maybe he needed a little push and Izzy had a feeling that it was somehow connected with-

‘’Does this have to do something with Magnus?’’ asked Izzy painfully slowly and Alec glanced at her and his heart started beating faster. He… how did she know?! Alec took in a deep breath and then glanced down. ‘’It does, doesn’t it?’’ she asked. She didn’t say anything about it for a long time, but it made her wonder and she made a little pause. ‘’Look, I know it’s not my place, that’s why I didn’t say anything, but,’’ she said and Alec tried his best to control his heart, but he couldn’t and he was shaking all over. How much did she know?

‘’Um, how do you-’’

‘’I once saw Magnus’ name on your phone,’’ said Izzy. ‘’I mean, I didn’t check what it said because I’d never do that. I just once happened to look over to your phone and I saw you had an unread text from him,’’ said Isabelle and Alec’s hands were shaking. ‘’Alec, it’s okay, you don’t have to tell-’’

‘’I-I’ve been texting with Magnus for a month,’’ said Alec and Izzy narrowed her eyes. That was… why didn’t Magnus tell her anything about it. That was what confused her about this whole thing and she just had to make a comment about it.

‘’Kind of weird that Magnus never mentioned you two texting,’’ said Izzy.

‘’That’s because he doesn’t know it’s me,’’ said Alec and then felt his heart dropping when he said that outloud. Izzy seemed confused. ‘’I-I, fuck, it’s a long story,’’ said Alec and then made a long pause. Luckily for him, Izzy was more than prepared to listen to the whole story. ‘’I-I’ve been crushing on him for a long time, Iz, and I’ve been, um, leaving love quotes inside of his locker,’’ said Alec and Izzy smiled all the way up to her ears.  _ That was so thoughtful and romantic.  _ ‘’Then one day I added my Instagram handle and-and we’ve been talking over there since then,’’ he said. ‘’Um, I made a completely anonymous profile because I-I’ve been scared to tell him that it-it was me who has been sending him those love quotes and-and I-I don’t know, I just,’’ he said and made another pause. ‘’I tried to tell him who I really am for a long time, but I just… I can’t, every time I’m about to say it I get too scared and nervous. I mean he could be very disappointed if he learns it’s me-me and he doesn’t like jocks and-’’

‘’Alec,’’ said Izzy and Alec stopped talking. That was quite a lot to wrap her head around, but she was trying hard and it took her a while, but after a few moments she was finally on the same page and Alec was just looking down. ‘’Hold on, hold on… you’re trying to tell me that you’ve been talking with Magnus this whole time and…  _ Magnus is the one that you invited to the prom?! _ ’’ she asked when she finally connected all of the dots. Alec slowly nodded, but he didn’t add more to that. It didn’t matter, it seemed that the prom thing wasn’t to happen anyway. ‘’And-and you and him have been… I mean, are you two dating or-’’

‘’Doesn’t matter anymore, Iz,’’ said Alec and just glanced over to his phone and then just shrugged. ‘’It seems that he’s lost interest in me, or-or, maybe he figured out who it's me, I don’t know,’’ he said and then pressed his lips together. ‘’He’s been kind of distant for the past few days,’’ he said and then felt his bad mood returning. ‘’I don’t know what I’ve done, I tried asking, but I don’t get a clear answer, he’s ghosting me,’’ he said and then just sighed sadly. ‘’I mean I’m not really surprised that he has gotten tired of me, I’m pretty boring and-’’

‘’Alec, no,’’ said Izzy. ‘’Stop doing this,’’ said Izzy and Alec scoffed.

‘’Am I wrong though?’’ asked Alec sadly.

‘’Yes, you’re very wrong, you’re amazing,’’ said Isabelle and Alec rolled his eyes.

‘’You’re supposed to say that, you’re my sister,’’ said Alec and Izzy gave him an unamused look.

‘’Very funny,’’ she deadpanned. ‘’Do you want me to talk to him?’’ asked Izzy. ‘’Maybe I can ask if something’s wrong,’’ she said and Alec only shook his head. It wouldn’t have changed a thing. To him it was all over - it was good while it lasted, but Magnus didn’t want to talk to him anymore.  _ If the reason was Magnus really figuring out his true identity then it was all over.  _ It was a sign that Magnus wouldn’t want to continue talking to him so why bother? Alec tried apologising, he asked quite a few times, but his texts were unanswered. 

‘’No, it’s over, Iz,’’ said Alec and bowed his head down. Izzy pressed her lips together and then pulled Alec into a hug. Alec was more than happy to return her the hug and she then sighed.  _ She needed to do something, Magnus wouldn’t just do something like that without any good reasons.  _ She was going to give it a few days, but if Alec’s mood was going to slip up even more then she was going to say something. She couldn’t just stand by and watch his brother unravel like this. He didn’t deserve something like that and Izzy knew that Magnus had a good reason - Magnus wasn’t like his!

* * *

If Magnus didn’t hate himself before, he despised himself by the time that Monday came. Even though he was trying to talk to Archer, he just didn’t know what to say. And weekend was hell for Alec - he spent most of the time locked in his room and was just feeling terrible. That was why Izzy decided to say something, so on her way to the school on Monday, she pulled Magnus to the side and Magnus finally confessed to her that he had figured it out and was thinking about it over and over again. He got a lot of time to think about it and he finally came to the conclusion that he didn’t hate the idea of Alec being Archer.  _ He didn’t mind the idea at all.  _ But at the same time, he felt like an ass and he just kept avoiding confrontation. But when Izzy told him about Alec’s state over the weekend, Magnus felt his heart sinking and he felt horrible. He should have just told him that he had figured it out and that he didn’t mind it - why did he have to make such a big deal out of it? 

Yes, they would have a lot to work out, but Alec was pretty amazing. Magnus was slowly starting to apply Archer’s traits to Alec and he realised that he wasn’t just good looks -  _ he was an incredibly sweet and attentive person that liked him a lot and he had hurt him!  _ Magnus needed to apologise. At the time he was sitting in the Literature class, sitting a few rows behind Alec and he pulled out his phone and decided to finally stop stalling and just- He didn’t know why he was doing it in the middle of the period, but he couldn’t wait much longer. He noticed that Alec was just sitting there gloomily, trying to take notes and Magnus felt his heart dropping - they needed to talk as soon as possible. So, during the lunch break, Magnus finally plucked up enough courage and finally send the text to Archer, his eyes on Alec. Both of them were in the cafeteria and Magnus’ heart was beating - he was nervous! 

**magnus.bane:** Alec, we need to talk. 

Alec’s phone buzzed, so he pulled it out of his phone and Magnus was on the edge. He hoped that Alec was going to be willing to still talk to him even though he was acting like a complete ass to him. Magnus wasn’t proud of how he acted and it really wasn’t like him, but- 

Alec was going to freak out in exactly 3, 2, 1…. and-

Alec dropped his phone on the tray when he read the text and he quickly looked up and he turned around, eyes scanning the cafeteria and when his eyes met with Magnus’ he quickly turned around. He picked up his phone and read the text again -  _ it said Alec, not Archer.  _ Magnus figured it out and the worst case scenario happened - Magnus found out before he was able to tell him the truth. Alec took in a deep breath, his face pale and he took in a deep breath and- ‘’Alec, are you okay?’’ asked Jace, who was sitting on the opposite side of the table and Alec looked up. ‘’Alec?’’

‘’I need to-to go,’’ said Alec, quickly picked up his backpack and Jace arched a brow.

‘’The next period is about to-’’

‘’I have to go,’’ said Alec, panicking all over and he just shook his head. ‘’I have to go, I, um, I can’t be here, I can’t,’’ said Alec, left the tray of food there and literally ran out of the cafeteria. His heart was beating fast and he just needed to get the hell out of there.  _ It made sense why Magnus was acting like this, he figured it out. He figured it all out!  _ It was over. Magnus hated him and Alec needed to make himself disappear, so the first thing that he was going to do after reaching home was going to be deleting his Instagram profile.  _ He was going to make sure that Archer never existed.  _ Alec’s heart was beating fast and he quickly took out his winter jacket out of the locker and then literally ran out of the school. He was headed home and he was going to stay there. For good. He was never showing his face in school again. How could he?!

Magnus saw Alec running and that’s when he started running too. He couldn’t let Alec get away, he needed to apologise. He felt guilty, so he quickly grabbed his things and ran after Alec. He hoped that he was going to catch Alec by the lockers, but the other was already gone by then and he quickly grabbed his things out of the locker and then quickly ran out of the school. Alec lived near the school and that was probably where he was headed.  _ Magnus hoped that he was!  _

Alec’s head was spinning as he was running towards his house and when he was finally sure that he was far away from school enough was when he stopped running and he took in a deep breath. He was shaking and he shuddered. Everything was over, Magnus probably hated him and was angry with him. He probably felt like he was being lied to and given his past with other jocks Alec was pretty sure that was what was going to happen. Magnus was never going to speak to him ever again and Alec felt the annoying burning heat in his eyes. ‘’Fuck,’’ stammered Alec and then pulled out his keys, swallowing back the tears. As he stepped in front of the door, he heard someone calling out his name and he quickly turned around and his eyes widened when he saw Magnus.

‘’Alec!’’ yelled out Magnus, his heart leaping up to his throat when he saw Alec in the distance and he started running again. Alec panicked again and he hurried to get the door unlocked and Magnus ran faster. ‘’No, no, Alec don’t, wait up, we need to talk,’’ yelled out Magnus, but Alec managed to unlock the door and quickly hide inside of the house before Magnus managed to catch up to him and he quickly locked the door and then leaned against the door, slowly sliding down it and he sat on the floor. 

Magnus was there - why? Alec didn’t want to talk about it - he was just going to be yelled at and his heart couldn’t handle Magnus yelling at him. He teared up again and he then took in a deep breath. ‘’It’s okay, everything is going to be-’’

‘’Open up,’’ said Magnus and started knocking on the door. ‘’Open up, I know you’re in there, so please open up,’’ said Magnus and Alec bit his lip, but didn’t reply. ‘’Alec, I need to apologise, I acted like an ass,’’ said Magnus, but Alec ignored to hear that. ‘’Alec, come on!’’

‘’Leave,’’ said Alec.

‘’No,’’ said Magnus. He was as stubborn as Alec. ‘’I’m staying here for as long as I want. You’ll have to open up the door eventually,’’ said Magnus and then crossed his arms on top of his chest. ‘’Fuck, it’s chilly,’’ commented Magnus and Alec looked down.  _ Magnus hated the cold, he knew that.  _

‘’L-look,’’ said Alec. ‘’I-I’ll make sure Archer will be gone forever, it’ll be as if he never existed,’’ said Alec and Magnus’ heart started beating faster. No, no, no, that wasn’t what he wanted! ‘’You’ll never have to see my face ever again. I-I’ll just-’’

‘’Alec-’’

‘’I’ll do all of that just please spare me-me,’’ said Alec and bit his lip. ‘’I can’t deal with you telling me you hate me and-and-’’ started Alec, but his voice trailed off and Magnus narrowed his eyes. 

‘’I don’t hate you, I’m here to apologise!’’ yelled out Magnus, just to make sure Alec heard him properly and Alec sniffled and narrowed his eyes.  _ Magnus was going to apologise, for?  _ ‘’Just please, open up,’’ said Magnus, leaning his hands against the door and Alec’s heart was beating fast.  _ Magnus said that he didn’t hate him, right?  _ Alec didn’t know what to do, but after he heard Magnus cursing the cold twice in a row, Alec finally unlocked the door and let Magnus in.

‘’Oh my God… warmth, of thank the lord,’’ muttered Magnus, rubbing his palms together, blowing into his hands to warm them up. Alec wasn’t saying much, he was just standing there and looking at the floor. ‘’Alec,’’ huffed Magnus and Alec flinched. ‘’Archer, yes?’’ he asked and Alec just nodded. ‘’I never would’ve thought that it was you, but,’’ said Magnus and then took a step closer, Alec taking one back. ‘’Okay, distance, I get i t,’’ said Magnus. ‘’I acted like a dick.’’

‘’N-no, I should’ve told you sooner and-and-’’

‘’I shouldn’t have ignored you for days,’’ said Magnus and Alec looked down. ‘’Izzy told me you were in a terrible mood,’’ said Magnus and Alec looked at him and then just shrugged. ‘’I’m sorry. I tried to apologise, but then I felt too embarrassed because I just-’’

‘’You have nothing to apologise for,’’ said Alec. ‘’I-I’m the one who’s sorry, I should’ve told you-’’

‘’Our conversations,’’ said Magnus and Alec looked at him. ‘’Not based on any lies, right? I mean all-all you’ve said is true?’’ asked Magnus and Alec nodded. Fuck, Magnus didn’t like to hear himself stutter so much, but he was nervous. ‘’And the things you told me, how you feel about me, they’re all true?’’ asked Magnus again and Alec nodded.

‘’Yes,’’ said Alec. ‘’I-I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid you’d be disappointed. I mean-mean, I’m not… I’m not really… good enough and-’’ he started and Magnus stepped closer.

That sounded like Archer alright. ‘’I am not disappointed,’’ said Magnus and Alec bit his lip. ‘’I’m surprised, that’s true, but disappointed?’’ asked Magnus and Alec shrugged. Looking at Alec like that made him feel stupid for not realising it sooner. Nobody else could be Archer but Alec and he took another step closer to Alec. ‘’Not at all,’’ said Magnus. ‘’And I don’t hate you,’’ said Magnus and Alec was shaking all over. He was nervous and almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing - this was reality, right? ‘’I could never hate you, Archer.’’

_ But did he still like him?  _ That was the question Alec was most terrified to ask. 

‘’I’m so sorry for acting like that, it was cruel to just leave you hanging like that,’’ said Magnus. ‘’Can you forgive me?’’ asked Magnus and Alec nodded.

‘’Of course,’’ said Alec and Magnus smiled softly. 

‘’Good,’’ said Magnus softly. They needed a lot to figure out, there was a lot that they needed to talk about. Alec’s hazel eyes were shyly looking down, he was trembling and he was trying to find some words. Alec was adorable. ‘’You have something you wanna ask me?’’ asked Magnus and Alec nodded. ‘’Go ahead,’’ said Magnus.

‘’Do,’’ he started and then cleared his throat. Alec was shaking, Magnus wanted to hug him. He was a giant, but he looked so small. ‘’Do you still like me?’’ asked Alec, his voice barely audible. Just like Archer’s. Magnus’ heart broke probably right there, Alec was so scared and nervous. Alec showed him his true colours, his vulnerability and Magnus swallowed. Hard.  _ Of course he still liked him.  _ ‘’I know you’re way out of my league, I just-’’

‘’Of course I still like you,’’ said Magnus and Alec finally allowed himself to relax, weight lifted off of his shoulders and he gasped. Alec closed his eyes, tears of relief rolling down his face and Magnus’ heart ached for Alec. ‘’Come here,’’ muttered Magnus and stepped closer to Alec, wrapping his arms around him. Alec clutched onto Magnus’ shirt when he finally realised that he got a hug from Magnus and he couldn’t stop shaking. ‘’I’ve got you.’’


	9. Chapter 9

Alec was standing in the line for lunch in cafeteria when he was approached by Magnus. It was a few days later after the confrontation happened and Alec was feeling better. He and Magnus managed to have a long talk after that and they decided to take things  _ really _ slow. Magnus didn’t mind waiting for Alec to be comfortable enough to come out to the others, so for now their relationship was on hold. Well, not that they had any kinds of relationship before, but well… Magnus was giving all the time that Alec needed and Alec felt split about it. On one hand he was glad that Magnus was being so understanding about the whole thing, but at the same time he didn’t want their  _ relationship  _ to be put on hold. He wanted to be dating Magnus, he wanted to hold his hand in public  _ and not be scared about it.  _ He wanted to be ready, but he wasn’t -  _ it was honestly the most frustrating thing ever.  _ But Magnus made one thing clear though that made Alec feel at ease - he still liked him. That made the whole thing a bit better. Still, he was frustrated, with himself mostly.

Alec was thinking a lot about it, for the whole day, he wasn’t really paying attention in school. It was on his mind and he hated it. He was afraid that he was never going to be ready and that Magnus was eventually going to get tired of just waiting. Alec was pissed off at himself, but he also didn’t know how to speed things up. He was chewing on his lip - if only he had the same amount of courage that he did as Archer. Archer was pretty courageous even with talking to Magnus, but now all he could muster were stutters and flustered sighs. He was very angry with himself and he tried practicing making small talk with Magnus in front of his mirror. He was killing in there, but then when Magnus was around, all of that flew right out through the window and it didn’t really make much difference. 

Magnus smiled when he saw Alec standing in line and he quickly hurried over to him. Alec wasn’t in the company of Jace because he was held up with the professor they had the last period - apparently someone wasn’t handing in his homeworks. And as for Izzy, it wasn’t her free period for lunch, so Alec was alone. That gave Magnus the perfect opportunity to come over to him and say hi.  _ Maybe they could even sit together for lunch!  _ That was if Alec was going to be comfortable enough with it. Magnus still wasn’t completely sure how comfortable Alec was with showing his friendship to the whole school, so he was being careful. Alec wasn’t like the other jocks, but others were still assholes - rumours could quickly spread and he didn’t want Alec to suffer the same way that he did.

Still, he couldn’t really resist in staying away. He was trying to get closer to Alec in school and this was the perfect opportunity. The whole thing was still a bit trippy for Magnus, but he was starting to finally connect Archer’s persona to Alec and he took in a deep breath. It was going to take him a while, but so far he didn’t mind it. Alec was an incredibly sweet person and very kind. Good looks were a plus of course, but that wasn’t what Magnus was looking for. Personality was what mattered and so far he was smitten with the jock, but he still had a long way to go. 

Magnus could see that Alec was kind of spacing out in school for the whole day, so he decided to jump in and try to make him feel better. He didn’t know what was going on, but he hoped that Alec was okay and he clasped his hands together. “Alec,” said Magnus happily and Alec flushed when he saw Magnus standing behind him and he quickly turned to him. “All alone in cafeteria today?” he asked because it was odd to see Alec without Jace or the other jocks surrounding him and Alec nodded.

“Yeah,” said Alec softly and then huffed, trying to slow down his racing heart, but it wasn’t really working. “Jace is still with the professor,” said Alec and then made a little pause. “Apparently he was busy doing someone else instead of homework,” said Alec and a little smile spread across his lips. Magnus laughed as well and he could see the glint in Alec’s eyes - the little mischievous light and he grinned. “So, I’m all alone here. You?” asked Alec and secretly hoped that Magnus was alone there as well; that meant that they could sit together!

“All alone, my friends have left me,” said Magnus in the very dramatic manner and Alec’s smile was growing. “We could sit together?” offered Magnus and Alec happily nodded. The other smiled and then bit his lip -  _ good, it seemed that Alec wasn’t going to be avoiding him in school.  _ In fact, that was amazing!

“Yes, um, I’d like that very much,” said Alec, slowly moving along the line of students and Magnus had to bite his lips so that he didn’t smile too much, but fuck, he was happy and he just took in a deep breath. Alec’s hands were shaking a little bit and Magnus narrowed his eyes - Alec was nervous,  _ he was so nervous.  _ Magnus wished to hug him, but instead he just stepped closer and reached for Alec’s hand. 

“All okay? You seem kind of out of it today?”

Alec panicked when he saw that Magnus was about to touch his hand in front of everyone and he quickly withdrew his hand, hiding it behind his back and Magnus quickly pulled his hand back as well.  _ Crap, he got a bit carried away, but he couldn’t help himself.  _ Alec’s heart fell yet again and Magnus could see that the jock was beating himself over it again. He was really going to have to learn Alec how to not do that because he didn’t like it when he’d bring himself down like that. It was okay and completely normal and understandable. 

“I’m sorry,” said Alec quickly and bit his lip. “I-I didn’t-”

“It’s okay,” whispered Magnus and Alec huffed. 

Alec was comfortable hugging and holding hands when it was just them, but he panicked when he was in public setting like this and he was just so freaking frustrated about the whole thing. “You still want us to sit together?” asked Alec, needing confirmation and Magnus’ heart melted and broke at the same time. How could Alec even think that he would change his mind over a little thing like that? Deep down Alec was really self-conscious and shy person even though he was a beast out in the field. In the field the jock was determined and never wavered - he was really the school’s best player. But in person, he was just-

“Of course,” said Magnus, knowing that he needed to be over-reassuring when it came to Alec. “I never go back to my words, you see,” said Magnus and winked. Alec cheered up after that and then he nodded, happily smiling and he then cleared his throat. 

“Good for me then, huh,” said Alec sheepishly and Magnus chuckled. 

After finally getting their hands on food, they made their way to the table and sat down in the opposite side of each other. Alec did that so he could look into Magnus’ pretty eyes and not be too obvious about it and Magnus was just smiling. Even though they didn’t talk much, Magnus was still enjoying Alec’s company and he could see that some of the other students were whispering and pointing to them because it was really rare to see a jock sitting together with someone that went to drama club, but Alec didn’t see that at all - he was too busy drowning in Magnus’ warm, dark eyes and Magnus glanced back at Alec, who was just staring at the other, being very obvious about it and Magnus started laughing.  _ So that was why Alec was staring so much at him.  _ He wasn’t being creepy or making fun of him, he was just staring because he liked what he saw! Magnus couldn’t blame him. With his ego boost up all the way up, Magnus finally decided to speak up.

“Archer, you’re staring,” said Magnus quietly, making sure that nobody heard them. It was very unlikely that anyone would hear them even if he was speaking a bit louder - the cafeteria was crammed, the students were talking all over each other, so the chances of being heard were close to zero, but he was still being careful about it and Alec quickly looked down.  _ Magnus was flirting!  _ So, that meant that relationship wasn’t put on hold?! Alec was confused, but he-

“Sorry,” he muttered.

“Oh, I wasn’t complaining,” said Magnus and Alec glanced up and shuddered as he looked into Magnus’ eyes and bit his lip.

“Your eyes are so pretty,” breathed Alec out, not being subtle about it at all and Magnus’ heart started beating much faster. It was his turn to flush then and he cleared his throat, glancing down and he just puffed his cheeks.  _ Right, they were taking it slow. Slow, slow, slow - that was what Magnus was trying to tell himself.  _ The only problem was that when he fell for someone, he fell for them hard, fast and deep. “I’m sorry, was that weird? Forget I ever said any-”

“No, no, no,” said Magnus and then looked around just to be sure that nobody was watching. After making sure that the coast was clear, he huffed and then glanced back at Alec. “You, um, I’m blushing,” said Magnus and Alec’s jaw dropped.

“ _ Really?! _ ” he asked and the excited look on his face made Magnus laugh.

“Yep,” said Magnus and Alec looked down again. 

“This is unbelievable, I made Magnus blush,” said Alec to himself, but Magnus heard him and he started laughing loudly. Alec was adorable indeed and he shook his head. Alec laughed too and finally felt a bit less on edge. It felt nice knowing that he was doing something right. Also, Magnus’ smile was so beautiful, his giggles were the most adorable thing he ever heard. But he needed to save that for later!

Being lost in their own bubble, they didn’t see how Raj was sitting just a few tables away and was just suspiciously looking over at the two of them -  _ he didn’t like Bane being so close to their quarterback!  _ He knew all about the rumours that were going around about Bane!

* * *

If there was any place that news travelled fast was high school and Alec’s school was no exception because pretty much by the end of the day, the word started going around that Alec sat with Magnus by the table for lunch and Alec didn’t really understand why it mattered so much with who he hung out with. It made no sense to him, it pissed him off and he pressed his lips together because he and Jace were on their way home and he could just  _ feel _ that Jace was going to ask him something about it and he couldn’t wait to be finally home so that he could go to his room and tune him out. But until then there was still a ten minute walk and he couldn’t stop rolling his eyes even though Jace hasn’t said anything.

And Jace had a lot of questions - he knew that  _ Izzy  _ was Magnus’ friend, but since when did Alec got so chummy with him?! Raj told how he saw Alec sitting with Magnus and he didn’t really understand why Raj sounded so upset, but he was still curious about it. ‘’Alec,’’ said Jace and Alec rolled his eyes -  _ there we go!  _ ‘’Can I ask you something?’’ asked Jace and Alec gritted his teeth, but then just nodded and tried to stay calm and not show his annoyance to his brother. 

‘’Go ahead.’’

‘’Is it true that you had lunch with Magnus today?’’ asked Jace and Alec pressed his lips together and then turned to Jace and just nodded.

‘’Yes,’’ said Alec. ‘’So?’’

‘’Nothing,’’ said Jace because he was surprised to see Alec so defensive about it. ‘’I’m just… are you two friends or something?’’ he asked. ‘’I mean Izzy and him are friends, but I didn’t know that you and him have gotten so  _ close _ ,’’ he said and Alec flinched because he didn’t like the way Jace said it.  _ Close, what was that supposed to mean?  _ Did Jace suspect something? Because Jace was the last person that he was going to tell about-

‘’So I can’t make new friends?’’ asked Alec and got very defensive about the questions.

‘’Um, no, I didn’t say that, I just wondered since when you and him-’’ he started, but then his voice trailed off and he glanced at the ground. ‘’Raj said that you seemed  _ very _ close, so I just-’’

‘’Oh, you listen to  _ Raj _ now,’’ said Alec, his heart beating fast. He knew that he was going to say something stupid. He didn’t want to hurt Jace’s feelings again because he was just asking harmless questions. But what could seem harmless to Jace, it wasn’t so harmless to Alec, who was in the panic state and he really didn’t want to…  _ Just what kind of rumours was Raj going to be spreading around them?!  _ Alec gulped and then he just tried to calm down his breathing because it was very obvious to just how bothered Alec was by questions and Jace really didn’t get it.

‘’No, I was just curious,’’ said Jace. ‘’I don’t give a flying fuck what Raj thinks, dude,’’ said Jace and tried to make Alec feel a bit better, but the damage was done. The seed of fear was planted and his breath shook, shaking his head. No, there was no way that Raj would actually do something like that. Besides, he had no proof. Also, Raj was always trying to suck up to Alec, so in a way he maybe looked up to him. He was stupid, but he wasn’t that  _ cruel  _ was he? Alec gulped and then tried to ignore the way his hands were shaking.  _ And even so, it wasn't like anyone was going to believe him.  _

‘’Yeah-yeah,’’ said Alec. ‘’I mean Magnus and I are just friends,’’ said Alec and looked at Jace, who smiled.

‘’Of course,’’ said Jace and smiled. ‘’Magnus seems like a cool guy, I mean,’’ he said and then shrugged. ‘’I don’t really know him, but he’s ten times better than Raj already,’’ said Jace and Alec nodded, his panic still there. ‘’So, if you want to be friends, why not? I was just curious that’s all, no need to get so worked up about it, okay?’’ asked Jace and Alec then huffed, nodding.

‘’Y-yeah, of course, sorry, I just really can’t stand Raj,’’ said Alec, his legs feeling a little bit shaky. Yep, he dodged a bullet this time and he was glad to see that Jace had his back. Maybe it would be easier telling him than he first imagined. He didn’t even know why was he so scared of telling Jace in the first place, but- 

‘’Literally nobody can stand that idiot,’’ said Jace and Alec laughed, trying to laugh off the anxiety away. It was working - to some extent. ‘’Don’t let him get to you, he’s just jealous,’’ said Jace and shook his head. ‘’Let’s talk about something else,’’ suggested Jace and Alec couldn’t be happier about that.

‘’Yes, please.’’

‘’Mind lending me your notes?’’ asked Jace and Alec snorted. ‘’ _ Please,  _ or Professor Penhallow is going to kill me,’’ he whined and Alec started laughing, but in the end he just nodded. ‘’I love you!’’ exclaimed Jace and wrapped an arm around Alec’s shoulders and pulled him closer, Alec rolling his eyes. Still, he wondered, would Jace still be so chummy around him if he came out to him? Alec gulped and decided not to think of that for the time being.

* * *

‘’I think this one is the one, huh?’’ asked Izzy. She was standing in front of the mirror, Magnus behind her and he nodded. The two of them decided to go shopping after school and Izzy has just found the perfect dress for her first date with Simon. It was a bit on the pricey side, but she decided that it was worth it. Simon was going to freak when he would see her wearing it and she couldn’t wait for his reaction. Magnus whistled and then nodded because it looked perfect on her and Izzy was beaming because she was very excited about the first date.  _ She was the one that asked Simon out, Lewis was taking way too long for her liking, so she decided to pluck up the courage and ask.  _ It was definitely worth it!

‘’Lewis is not ready,’’ said Magnus playfully and Isabelle chuckled as well, hoping that Simon was going to like her new dress and she then nodded, deciding that she was going to be getting that one. ‘’You do have a good eye for fashion, like yours truly,’’ said Magnus and pointed at himself. Izzy chuckled and then nodded. Indeed. 

‘’Okay,’’ said Izzy and then glanced back to the changing room. ‘’I’ll go change back to my clothes and then we can get going,’’ she said and Magnus nodded. The two of them have been in the mall for hours now and it was really time for the two of them to get back home. Izzy at least, Asmodeus was again working late into the day, so Magnus didn’t really want to go home yet. It was lonely to be home, but maybe… well, he had a plan. Maybe Alec was home and he could tag along with Izzy over to the Lightwood house? It would give him an opportunity to spend some time alone with Alec, maybe. They didn’t really have any time alone since the day of confrontation and even though they talked pretty much all the time over texts, it just wasn’t the same. 

‘’You going home, right?’’ asked Magnus and Izzy chuckled.

‘’Yep, I have to get going or my parents will soon send search party for me,’’ she said and Magnus chuckled because he knew she had overprotective parents and he then took in a deep breath. ‘’Did you want to go somewhere else? I’d love to hang out more, but I really have to get going, sadly,’’ she said and Magnus clasped his hands together and then he chewed on his lip -  _ how to ask if he could come over without being too invasive?  _

‘’Not really,’’ said Magnus. ‘’I mean… is Alec home?’’ asked Magnus and Izzy grinned inside of the changing room.

‘’Probably,’’ said Izzy and her smile was growing.

‘’Oh, that’s good, yeah,’’ said Magnus. ‘’My dad is working late again and,’’ he said and then stopped talking, taking a little pause. ‘’I mean if it’s not too much-’’

‘’Magnus, you can come over,’’ said Izzy and stuck her head out. ‘’Alec would be happy to see you,’’ she said and then disappeared back inside of the changing room and Magnus smiled widely -  _ amazing!  _ Izzy chuckled because they found both of them adorable. Alec was in a lot better mood since the day - Alec told her bits and pieces of what happened. Not everything, but Izzy didn’t need to know everything. She was just glad that they talked and were… figuring things out, according to Alec. ‘’Things are going well between the two of you?’’ she asked and Magnus took in a deep breath and then nodded.

‘’Yes, I think so,’’ said Magnus.

Izzy stepped out of the changing room, already changed back, ready to leave and she arched her brow. ‘’You  _ think _ so?’’ she asked and Magnus rubbed the back of his head. 

‘’I mean, we’re still figuring things out,’’ said Magnus and Izzy smiled.

‘’Good,’’ she said and then took in a deep breath. ‘’I hope it all works out between the two of you,’’ she said and Magnus nodded. Yes, he hoped too, because he really liked Archer, well, Alec. 

* * *

‘’Alec,’’ whined Max as he was tired, he didn’t want to study anymore and he just clicked with his tongue. ‘’Let’s stop studying for the day, I can feel numbers eating my brain,’’ he then said and Alec chuckled and then folded his arms on top of his chest.  _ Alec was a strict teacher!  _

‘’Just one more problem,’’ said Alec.

‘’No, I don’t wanna,’’ whined the twelve year old and then just glanced down. ‘’I give up, Math sucks so much,’’ he said and Alec narrowed his eyes. ‘’Let’s play instead,’’ said Max happily and Alec narrowed his eyes. Max stood up, but the look on Alec’s face told him to sit back down, so that was what he did. They were in the kitchen and Alec was trying to help Max with his homework, but the boy wasn’t making it easy for him. It was true that they’ve been studying for almost an hour, but still!

‘’Mom, tell Max that he still needs to do this math problem,’’ hollered Alec and Maryse stepped inside of the kitchen and then folded her arms on top of her chest and glanced at her boys. 

‘’Listen to your brother, Max,’’ said Maryse and Max whined.

‘’Mom!’’

‘’The faster you boys are finished with it, the faster I can start preparing dinner,’’ she said and glanced over at the clock.  _ That got Max motivated enough!  _ Alec was laughing softly, but then stopped when Max glared at him. ‘’Boys, boys,’’ she said and shook her head, leaving the kitchen, joining Robert back in the living room. She had her hands full with the boys, but she loved it, of course. 

‘’You’re not a tutor, you’re a torturer,’’ said Max under his breath.

‘’There has to be discipline, young man,’’ said Alec and Max rolled his eyes - Alec could be such a smartass at times. Max continued sulking for a few minutes, but then he just groaned and then decided to solve the last problem so that he could be free.  _ Freedom was never going to feel so amazing!  _ And just ten minutes, Max was free! Alec was laughing as he followed his brother into the living room. ‘’There, why you make such a big deal out of it? It took you only ten minutes,’’ said Alec.

Alec heard the door opening -  _ Izzy was probably home!  _

‘’You are a sadist, Alec,’’ said Max bitterly. ‘’You have  _ no _ compassion!’’

‘’Excuse me if I like order and discipline,’’ said Alec, laughing along. His little brother was hilarious when he got upset like this. ‘’That’s how my momma raised me,’’ he said and looked at Maryse, who chuckled and then just sighed. 

‘’Boys, stop fighting,’’ said Robert.

‘’It’s not arguing, dad, we’re having a conversation,’’ said Alec.

‘’You’re such a smartass,’’ whined Max. 

‘’Mom, I’m home,’’ announced Izzy happily as she stepped inside of the living room. Magnus followed her behind and was trying his best to hold back his laughter because he heard Alec arguing with his little brother just before and it was the most adorable thing ever.  _ A sadist, Alec? Never, he couldn’t believe it!  _ Alec looked up and was about to greet her, but then he saw Magnus behind her and he froze up. 

_ Magnus’ nose was red from the cold!  _ That was the first time that Alec was able to notice and he was so cute. He was like Rudolf, the reindeer! His cheeks were also a bit red from the cold and Alec shyly looked down. But what was Magnus doing there? ‘’Oh and you brought a friend!’’ said Maryse happily and went over to the boy that came home with Isabelle. Magnus politely smiled.

Magnus has met Maryse - kind of - but not Robert. The man was soon up on his legs and went over to Izzy and her ‘friend’. ‘’Are you Lewis?’’ asked Robert, crossing his arms on top of his chest and went into his protective dad mood. Alec’s jaw dropped and Izzy rolled her eyes. Maryse, on the other hand, laughed softly and then shook her head.

‘’Dad, can you please  _ not _ ?!’’ groaned Izzy.

‘’No, dear, this is Magnus,’’ said Maryse and Robert quickly softened up.

‘’Oh,’’ said Robert. ‘’My apologies, welcome to our home,’’ he said and Magnus was laughing because his father was just like that. 

‘’Here again to help our Izzy improve her acting skills?’’ asked Maryse. Alec needed to get Magnus away from his parents or they were going to embarrass him and Magnus was never going to come over ever again! 

‘’No, um, I’m actually here to see Alec,’’ said Magnus and Alec perked up. 

‘’Oh?’’

‘’Um, we’re classmates, actually, and I needed some, um, help?’’ asked Magnus. 

‘’Oh, you’re gonna torture him too?’’ asked Max and glanced at Magnus, giving him a compassionate look. ‘’I wouldn't do it, good grades aren’t worth it,’’ said Max. ‘’He’s a demon,’’ said Max, his face dark.

‘’Max. Shut. Up,’’ hissed Alec, his face red and his heart was beating way too fast for his liking!

‘’Oh, will you be staying for dinner?’’ asked Maryse. ‘’I’ll be making pie!’’

‘’Oh, no, no, it’s okay. I’ll be soon on my way,’’ said Magnus, but Alec stepped closer and his voice trailed off.

‘’Please, stay?’’ asked Alec softly, kind of blurting it out and Magnus gulped and then looked over at Maryse again -  _ how could he say no?!  _

‘’Okay, seems I’m staying,’’ said Magnus and Alec happily smiled, shyly looking down. ‘’Alec speaks very highly of your pies, so I’m looking forward to it,’’ said Magnus and Maryse happily grinned. ‘’So should we get going to do that… stuff?’’ asked Magnus and Alec flushed, quickly nodded.

‘’Y-yes,’’ said Alec and Max sighed loudly.

‘’Don’t say I didn’t warn you,’’ said Max and Magnus laughed. Alec pressed his lips together -  _ why was he like that?!  _

* * *

‘’So, this is your room,’’ said Magnus and took in a deep breath. Alec cursed because his room was a mess! If he knew Magnus was coming over, he would  _ clean!  _ But no, it was complete mess in there, some of the clothes laying scattered on the floor, some o the books messily stacked on his desk and- ‘’It does have your vibe to it, I can tell,’’ he said and pointed to the bow in the corner. ‘’You have to show me once how to use that,’’ said Magnus and Alec nodded and then quickly locked the door so that they wouldn’t be disturbed!

‘’I’m sorry, it’s a mess,’’ rambled Alec. ‘’If I knew you’re coming, I’d clean up a bit and-’’

‘’You’re adorable when you ramble,’’ said Magnus and Alec stopped talking. ‘’And don’t worry, my room is in worse state,’’ said Magnus and then took in a deep breath. ‘’Maybe I should’ve called before, it’s okay if I’m here, right?’’

‘’More than okay,’’ said Alec and then went over to his bed, sitting on the edge of if and glanced up. ‘’Um, sit down?’’ asked Alec and Magnus nodded, happily sitting down next to Alec.  _ Magnus was sitting on his bed! Fuck, he was in his room!  _ Alec was too happy and he smiled, his smile blinding and Magnus grinned. 

‘’Must be fun living with so many siblings, huh?’’

‘’Yeah, sometimes,’’ said Alec and shook his head. ‘’I’m really not a sadist like Max claims I am. He was just lazy,’’ he said and Magnus burst out laughing -  _ it bothered Alec so much that he had to point that out for him?!  _ So. Freaking. Adorable. 

‘’I know you’re the furthest thing from a sadist, Alec,’’ said Magnus and then scooted a bit closer to Alec. They were sitting too far away, he wanted to be closer. Alec didn’t seem to mind it and he just smiled. 

There was something that Alec wanted to ask - it’s been on his mind. ‘’I… we’re not dating, right?’’ asked Alec and kind of surprised Magnus with the bold question. ‘’I mean,’’ said Alec. ‘’You said our relationship is put on hold for the time being, but then you flirted with me in school and-and I just wonder… I mean, I don’t know. My questions makes no sense,’’ said Alec and Magnus huffed. He knew what Alec meant.

‘’Did my flirting confuse you?’’ asked Magnus carefully.

‘’God, no, I liked it,’’ said Alec and Magnus grinned. Good, when it was just them Alec was  _ a lot _ more comfortable telling him what he truly meant. ‘’I just, I don’t know-’’

‘’Tell me what you’re comfortable with, Alec,’’ said Magnus softly and Alec’s cheeks reddened.

‘’I mean n-not in public, yet, but when it’s just us… like we are now,’’ said Alec and Magnus nodded, giving Alec a little encouraging smile. ‘’I would want to hold your hand and do other stuff,’’ he said and pressed his lips together.

‘’ _ Other _ stuff?’’ asked Magnus playfully.

Alec’s heart jumped and he looked down. ‘’You know what I meant,’’ whispered Alec. 

‘’I know, was teasing, sorry,’’ said Magnus and then looked down. Alec said he wanted to hold hands, right? Magnus softly placed his hand over Alec’s and Alec didn’t pull back that time. He slowly turned his hand around, placing his palm against Magnus’ and the jock’s smile grew. ‘’I’d like that too,’’ said Magnus and Alec’s heart jumped. That gave him a bit more confidence and he then came a bit closer to Magnus.

‘’I promise that by the time prom comes around, I’ll be courageous enough to make out with you in front of the whole school,’’ said Alec and Magnus’ eyebrows raised up.

‘’Oh, I like the sound of that,’’ said Magnus and Alec grinned.

‘’Y-you’re still going with me, yes?’’ asked Alec carefully.

‘’ _ Duh _ ,’’ said Magnus and linked their fingers together. ‘’But, don’t force it okay, if you’re not comfortable until then, then I’ll understand, you have to come out when it feels right for you,’’ said Magnus. ‘’Don’t do it for me, you’re doing it for yourself.’’

_ Magnus was just so amazing!  _

"You're amazing," said Alec and Magnus beamed at him. Magnus looked at their hands - Alec's weren't shaking anymore. Magnus was glad to see Alec being less nervous and he gently bumped his shoulder against Alec's. Alec glanced at him and smiled wider.

"You're even more adorable than I imagined, Archer," said Magnus softly and Alec just said something under his breath and leaned against Magnus. His eyes fell upon Magnus' cheek and after a minute of thinking about it, he finally leaned closer and pressed a kiss against Magnus' cheek.  _ Very _ clumsily. "Oh!" said Magnus and winked. Alec glanced down.

"I told you I wanna do more to stuff," mumbled Alec and Magnus only chuckled.  _ Adorable indeed. _


	10. Chapter 10

It was after practice and Alec was tired as hell, but happy because he did an amazing job and he then took in a deep breath. The coach was impressed with the progress that he was making and he was again in top notch condition.  _ Alec was pretty proud!  _ He was in the changing room, getting ready to leave and he wanted to get the hell out of there before Raj would be able to catch up to him, but he didn’t have such luck. Just as he was about to stand up and leave, Raj sat down onto the bench next to him and Alec rolled his eyes and then took in a deep breath. He gritted his teeth and because he didn’t want to make a scene he forced on a smile and then he glanced over to the other, who was going to say something stupid - Alec could just feel it. Alec was stupid, he knew that Raj was keeping an eye on him because he was hanging out with Magnus, but he couldn’t figure out why Raj minded it so much. Just what in the world was his problem and what was his motive? Just what did he have to gain with this?!

‘’Lightwood,’’ siad Raj and Alec didn’t reply. He just sat there, his foot tapping impatiently against the floor and he just wanted to leave. ‘’Good work out there, the coach was really impressed,’’ he said and Alec just gave him a little smile and then he nodded.

‘’Thanks,’’ said Alec and then huffed under his breath. ‘’Is that what you wanted to say? Can I please leave?’’ he asked and Raj shook his head,  _ so he was right - there was more!  _ He didn’t just stop to tell him how he thought that he did a good job out there. Of course not, this was Raj that he was talking about and he just tried his best to ignore the other’s eyes on him. 

‘’Actually, I wanted to ask you something,’’ said Raj and Alec’s lips twitched nervously because if he was saying something against Magnus, he was going to punch Raj and he wasn’t going to even regret it. Heck, he has been waiting to do this for four years straight and it was going to feel amazing! His hand was already itching to punch him, but then again Raj always had that kind of an affect on him. He had a very punchable face and he’d make a great punching bag. ‘’I was just wondering,’’ said Raj. ‘’Since when are you friends with Bane?’’

Alec didn’t like the way Raj asked that - he didn’t like his tone. The way he said Magnus’ last name really rubbed him the wrong away. It was as if he put all of the disgust he could in his voice and Alec swallowed thickly and then bit his lip. At first he got scared that Raj might have figured something out, but then he had to remind himself that it was just his paranoia making him think that. Raj knew nothing, but he was going to suspect something if Alec asw going to act so defensive about it. Still, he couldn’t really help it because he asw on the edge and he didn’t like ho fawst his heart asw beating. Alec then just shrugged and glanced over at Raj, not showing how nervous he truly was about the sudden questions, but he just had a feeling that Raj had already figured it out.

‘’Does it really matter?’’ asked Alec, trying to act carelessly and Raj didn’t seem too impressed with the answer that he got and he just crossed his arms on top of his chest and his face darkened.

‘’You do know about the rumours about him?’’ asked Raj and Alec’s heart started beating faster again.  _ He never cared about rumours, rumours were evil and just a way to bully a person.  _ ‘’You know - that he’s into guys as well?’’ asked Raj, Alec quickly looking away and his hands were shaking. He quickly hid them behind his back and he then bit his lip. ‘’I just don’t want you to… you know,’’ he said and then shuddered. ‘’You’re on top of your game and if the word gets out that you are being all chummy with him - I’m just looking out for your image, Lightwood,’’ he said and Alec arched a brow and he felt sick. So, Raj wasn’t going to hide his very obvious homophobia?!

‘’You know,’’ said Alec, because he was also pissed. Yes, he was scared about being outed, but at the same time it pissed him off and he wasn’t going to let someone like Raj to tell him what he should and shouldn’t be doing. ‘’I think you should mind your own business and you should worry more about your social life than mine,’’ said Alec, not really hiding his annoyance and he could tell that his words upset Raj, his eyes darkening and he pressed his lips together, clenching his jaw and Alec quickly glanced down.

‘’I’m just trying to look out for you, man,’’ said Raj.

‘’I don’t remember needing a fucking babysitter,’’ said Alec and then stood up. Raj seemed even more pissed off and he firmed loose fists with his hands. Apparently that didn’t really go his way. Honestly, what did he think was going to happen? Alec never really tried to hide how much he disliked Raj, so why was he acting so surprised?! ‘’I’ll manage, thanks,’’ he said and then took his bag, but Raj stood up as well and Alec arched a brow. ‘’Now what?’’ hissed Alec.

‘’I’m just trying to warn you,’’ said Raj.

‘’Uh-huh, because you clearly don’t have an ulterior motive,’’ said Alec and then took in a deep breath. ‘’I’ll say this in the kindest way possible: stay the fuck away from me and my friends,’’ said Alec. ‘’Or there will be consequences,’’ he said and Raj rolled his eyes. Clearly he didn’t really care about Alec’s warning, but Alec was going to snap once and then there would be no coming back. He didn’t care if he’d get suspended for life.

‘’Oh, we’ll see how will last talk about consequences,’’ said Raj and then stepped past Alec and the other gave him a confused look -  _ was that a threat?!  _ ‘’Don’t tell me I didn’t try warning you,’’ said Raj, his voice low and Alec didn’t like the tone of his voice - he was definitely threatening him and as soon as Raj stepped through the door, Alec glanced down and took in a deep breath, biting on his lip. 

_ Raj was definitely capable of doing something as outing him in front of the whole school.  _ Alec gritted his teeth and then closed his eyes. ‘’It’s okay, he knows nothing,’’ he said and then clasped his hands together. 

* * *

Magnus happily smiled when he saw Alec by his locker and he happily hurried over to him. Things were going pretty well between the two of them and his heart fluttered with joy because it’s been a while since he was this happy and he couldn’t wait to approach Alec. At first it was a bit hard connecting Archer and Alec being the same person, but now they’ve merged together and he was smitten with Alec - he was just such an amazing person and Magnus chuckled when he saw Alec by the locker. But it seemed that something was bothering him? The frown in between his eyebrows was deeper than usual and his lips were pressed together, wearing a troubled expression and he rubbed the back of his neck, but then decided to cheer him up!

Playfully, Magnus crept behind Alec after he made sure that they were completely alone in the hallway - not many students were still around. School activities have ended, so it was pretty empty and after creeping behind Alec, making sure that the jock didn’t hear him, he jumped behind him. ‘’Boo!’’ yelled out Magnus, trying to scare Alec and he succeeded. Alec let out a loud shriek, dropping his books onto the floor and he quickly turned around because  _ just what kind of an asshole would do something like that?!  _ His eyes widened when he saw Magnus standing behind him, laughing softly and Alec’s facial expression softened up almost immediately. ‘’Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t think you’d freak out so much, are you okay?’’ asked Magnus.

‘’Y-yeah, what the hell, Magnus?!’’ asked Alec and Magnus pressed his lips together, shrugging. He looked to cute for Alec to stay mad at him for too long and he just huffed and then picked up the books from the floor and put the ones that he wasn’t going to be needing at home back at the locker and then locked it. ‘’I almost died!’’ said Alec and Magnus giggled.

‘’I’m sorry!’’ said Magnus and then stepped closer. ‘’I wanted to cheer you up, you looked troubled,’’ said Magnus and Alec huffed under his breath.

‘’And creeping up behind me and scaring the shit out of me seemed like a good idea of cheering me up?’’ asked Alec, trying not to laugh at his own words and Magnus snorted again. ‘’You have a weird sense of compassion,’’ joked Alec and Magnus have him a little chuckle and Alec then glanced down. There it was again, that troubled expression and Magnus bit his lip. He needed to do something better than this!

‘’Something happened at practice?’’ asked Magnus because before Alec seemed okay.

‘’Raj,’’ hissed Alec and gritted his teeth.

‘’Oh, him,’’ said Magnus and narrowed his eyes. ‘’Alec, what did he do, I’ll fight him,’’ said Magnus and Alec blinked a few times and then started laughing because the way Magnus said it - it was adorable. But also, it was kind of… his heart skipped a beat when Magnus acted protective of him and he glanced around and then shuddered. It would be a very easy solution to get Raj off his back - not interact with Magnus in school, but that would mean hurting Magnus. Not to mention that it would give Raj the power to manipulate him.  _ Hurting Magus’ feelings wasn’t worth it.  _

‘’I like it when you’re protective over me,’’ whispered Alec softly and Magnus glanced up at him.

Magnus’ heart melted and he smiled. It was true, he felt very protective over Alec because in many ways Alec was way too innocent for this world and if  _ anyone  _ would try to hurt him, he was going to strike them. Magnus wanted to ease Alec’s mind, so he decided to propose something. ‘’Are you free now?’’ asked Magnus.

‘’Yeah, why?’’

‘’In hurry to get home?’’

‘’Not really,’’ said Alec and cocked his head curiously.

‘’Amazing,’’ said Magnus and then lowered his voice just a little bit. ‘’If you’d like, maybe we could hang out?’’ asked Magnus and Alec’s jaw dropped after he realised what Magnus asked him -  _ hanging out… as a date?!  _ Because if that was what Magnus was suggesting, Alec was very much interested! ‘’Hanging out in the mall - how does that sound?’’ asked Magnus and Alec’s heart was beating fast and his tongue was tied. His cheeks red as he finally managed to pull himself together enough. Just enough though.

‘’ _ Date _ ?’’ mouthed Alec and Magnus felt his heart beating a bit faster. He didn’t want to call it a date because he didn’t want to freak Alec out too much, but now that Alec mentioned it, they could call it a date! Magnus would not be opposed at all!

‘’If you’d like to call it like that,’’ said Magnus softly. ‘’Because I’m down.’’

‘’Me too, I-I would like that very much so,’’ said Alec. Raj, who? He was completely forgotten. And Alec didn’t worry too much about it - the mall was big, the chances of meeting someone from their school were pretty slim. And even if they did run into someone, they would just  _ hanging out.  _ Even though it was really a  _ date!  _ Oh, Alec was so excited. His very first date. Ever.

_ His very first date  _ **_ever._ **

**Crap!**

Thank God that he showered after practice, but still! If he knew he’d at least wear his good clothes. He needed to match up to Magnus’ level and standards! ‘’If I knew I’d wear my nicer clothes,’’ blurted Alec out and Magnus started laughing again because Alec was too, too adorable! 

‘’Don’t worry, I think you look amazing,’’ said Magnus and winked.

Alec decided right there and then - the regular clothes were going to be good too!

* * *

‘’Oh, finally, cocoa, my love,’’ said Magnus happily when the barista brought over to their table the drinks that they’ve ordered and Magnus quickly grabbed the mug with his cold hands.  _ He really, really wasn’t cut out for the cold weather!  _ He sighed happily as the hot mug warmed his hands up and Alec was just watching him and was smiling softly. Magnus’ nose was again red - it was so cute! Alec didn’t even notice the cold before - being close to Magnus kept him warm enough.

Alec chuckled. ‘’Should I be jealous?’’ asked Alec playfully and Magnus glanced up at him and cracked up. Honestly, Alec felt kind of free being with Magnus in public without people really knowing them - he could feel more like himself and he wasn’t nervous of anyone seeing them. He liked the freeing feeling and he hoped that he could reach that kind of freedom in other places as well and not just places that people didn’t know them. Magnus was a bit surprised with Alec’s blunt side, but then he remembered that Archer didn’t really have troubles in telling him how he truly felt and Magnus only winked back and leaned a bit closer. He wanted to reach over the table with his hand and place it on top of Alec’s, but didn’t and he instead looked up into Alec’s eyes.  _ Hazel, so bright and warm.  _

‘’Don’t worry, my heart belongs only to you, Archer,’’ said Magnus and Alec felt his heart skipping a beat and he just cleared his throat because that was kind of cheesy, no? Dramatic, too, but he liked it. Still!

‘’Cheesy,’’ muttered Alec. Magnus cringed - it was a bit too much, wasn’t it?

‘’Yeah?’’

‘’I love it,’’ said Alec and Magnus chuckled. 

‘’Really?’’

‘’Yeah, I mean,’’ said Alec and then scooted a bit closer. ‘’I did start slipping those love quotes into your locker and does it get any cheesier than that?’’ asked Alec and then felt his cheeks redden. Magnus smiled and then he just shrugged - he quite liked cheesy things. 

‘’You’re in luck, because I love cheesy things,’’ said Magnus and Alec just looked down, cleared his throat and then made a big sip of his hot chocolate. Because he drank it fast and wasn’t careful enough he ended up burning his tongue. Bad. It hurt like hell and he whined, quickly swallowing it down, Magnus’ eyes widening and he bit his lip because Alec looked in pain. ‘’Hey, is all-’’

‘’I burned my tongue,’’ whined Alec. ‘’Hurts.’’

‘’Oh, no,’’ said Magnus and then looked at barista. ‘’I’ll go get you some ice,’’ said Magnus quickly and Alec just shook his head, quickly pulling Magnus down into sitting position and he just cleared his throat, quickly drinking some of the water that came with the hot chocolate that he ordered and he sighed in relief -  _ much, much better!  _ ‘’Are you sure, because-’’

‘’Magnus, I’ll be fine,’’ stammered Alec, but he was again in awe of how protective Magnus was.  _ He was definitely boyfriend material!  _

‘’Okay,’’ said Magnus and then nodded. ‘’But if it hurts, tell me,’’ said Magnus and Alec snorted - so much over-reacting over such a little thing. ‘’Anyway, are you enjoying yourself on our date?’’ asked Magnus. Alec flinched and quickly nodded because it was fun so far and he hoped that he was doing okay. He didn’t know what he was doing, so Magnus was going to have to be the judge of that.

‘’Y-yeah,’’ said Alec and then shrugged. ‘’I, uh, I mean it’s my first date so you-you’ll have to tell me how I’m doing,’’ said Alec. ‘I have no idea what I’m doing here,’’ said Alec and Magnus sighed softly. 

‘’Yeah, I must imagine that first date with a guy has to be quite different?’’ asked Magnus and Alec looked down and continued sipping on the water. Magnus arched his brow - Alec seemed pretty quiet. He thought about it a little bit and then his eyes widened. It was first date ever for Alec?! Alec did tell him that he didn’t have much experience at least as the Archer, but he thought that Alec went on a few dates before? He was a jock, he was popular, so Magnus just assumed that- ‘’Hold on, is this your first date  _ ever _ ?’’ asked Magnus softly and Alec didn’t reply, but the silence told him enough.

‘’I’m sorry, you must think I’m weird,’’ said Alec and then felt his heart getting heavy a little bit more. He hoped that that didn’t make him completely  _ undateable?  _ ‘’I just,’’ he said. ‘’I did have a lot of, um, opportunities, I just,’’ he said and then shrugged. ‘’I just didn’t, um, it didn’t feel right going out with someone that-that I knew I wouldn’t be into,’’ he said and then glanced down. ‘’I’m sorry, it’s weird, I just-’’

‘’Not weird,’’ said Magnus quickly.

‘’But it’s still-’’

‘’It’s normal,’’ said Magnus quickly and Alec glanced at him and swallowed thickly.  _ Really?  _ ‘’Sorry, I just assumed that since you are a jock that you’ve been on dates, but I was wrong to just assume,’’ said Magnus.  _ Alec really was different - didn’t go on any dates because he didn’t want to play with the hearts of others because he knew that the relationship wouldn’t be much successful.  _ Alec was amazing. 

‘’I hope that it doesn’t make me completely undateable,’’ muttered Alec.

‘’Alec,’’ said Magnus and Alec looked up. ‘’Stop worrying, you’re doing amazing,’’ said Magnus and Alec smiled all the way up to his ears and he giggled. Yes, Alec Lightwood  _ giggled.  _

‘’I-I… thank you,’’ said Alec and Magnus just smiled again.

* * *

Alec was screaming internally - he had his first date and it was amazing and now he was walking Magnus home! Alec wanted to see where Magnus lived, so he asked him if he could walk him home and Magnus was more than happy about that. It was quite a long walk, but because both of them wanted to spend as much time as it was possible together, they decided to walk all the way there even if it was freezing cold outside.  _ Magnus was willing to endure it for the sake of being longer with Alec!  _ Alec kept eyeing at Magnus and he could tell that the other was cold. Again. Alec bit his lip and then he wondered what to do.

‘’Are you sure you’re okay walking?’’ asked Alec and Magnus glanced at him. ‘’You-you said that you hate the cold and I can see you’re shaking,’’ said Alec, but Magnus only shrugged it waved it off. He, in fact, was freezing, but he didn’t care. ‘’Now I feel bad for suggesting to-’’

‘’Alec, I’m fine,’’ said Magnus softly and smiled. ‘’I agreed to it, right?’’

‘’Yes, but,’’ said Alec and looked down. They made a turn to the right into a street that was a lot less crowded and Alec pressed his lips together. ‘’Are we soon gonna be there?’’ asked Alec because they’ve been walking for a while now and Magnos nodded.

‘’Yeah, not much longer,’’ said Magnus and smiled.

‘’G-good,’’ said Alec and looked around again. Not that many people weren’t around, but it was also pretty dark outside already and he bit his lip.  _ Maybe he could-  _ Alec glanced over at Magnus, his heart beating fast and the only thing that he could hear was the sound of his racing heart because he was trying to pluck enough courage to do something. He bit his lip and then looked around again - again, nobody was around and he then took in a deep breath and then decided to go for it. 

Magnus was rubbing his palms together.  _ He forgot the gloves again!  _ He slapped himself across the forehead mentally, but then he felt Alec reaching over to his side and his eyes widened when Alec held his hand all of the sudden and then tucked Magnus’ hand inside of his pocket together with his own one. Alec had a long coat on him, so it had big pockets, which made easily for both of their hands to fit inside. Magnus was taken back a little bit and he looked up and down Alec, who was just staring forward - he did not dare to look at Magnus. He was too nervous.

‘’Alec?’’

‘’This way you won’t be as cold, right?’’ asked Alec, his voice shaking and he held onto Magnus’ hand tightly. 

‘’Are you sure you’re okay with-’’

‘’Yes,’’ said Alec, determined and Magnus then only smiled.

‘’Yes,’’ said Magnus. ‘’I’m much warmer like this,’’ said Magnus and Alec smiled. It was true, Magnus barely noticed the cold after that. The only thing he could think about was how warm Alec’s hand felt in his.  _ Perfect.  _

And before they knew it, they’ve finally reached the Bane residence. And Alec was in awe. Again. It was a big place! ‘’This is where you live?’’ asked Alec and Magnus nodded softly. ‘’Oh, it looks fancy as hell,’’ said Alec and was looking up and down. Magnus chuckled.

‘’Yeah,’’ said Magnus. ‘’The only annoying thing are the neighbours,’’ said Magnus and shuddered. ‘’But other than that, it’s pretty nice,’’ said Magnus and Alec smiled. Magnus slowly walked up the stairs that lead to the front door, Alec following him and Magnus smiled when he saw that the lights were on. His dad was home already! Awesome! ‘’My dad’s home, huh,’’ said Magnus and then turned around, realising that Alec were pretty much  _ very _ close to him and he grinned. ‘’You sure you don’t wanna come in?’’ he asked because he’s asked Alec that before and he refused.

Alec smiled. ‘’It’s already late and I should probably get going,’’ said Alec and Magnus pulled out his phone.  _ Alec was right!  _ Time really did fly when one was having a good time! ‘’But-but maybe some other time?’’ asked Alec hopefully.  _ There was going to be another time, right? _

‘’Yes, definitely,’’ said Magnus and Alec sighed in relief. Magnus then opened the door, but didn’t quite step inside. Instead, he turned to Alec again. ‘’Thank you for hanging out today, I had a lot of fun,’’ said Magnus and Alec bit his lip.

‘’Me too,’’ said Alec and couldn’t hide his smile. ‘’There will be second date?’’

‘’Duh,’’ said Magnus and winked. Neither of them wanted to leave. Magnus’ eyes flickered down and then he reached with his hands towards Alec. ‘’It’s freezing, you should wrap yourself more,’’ he said, adjusting Alec’s scarf and the jock chuckled softly. ‘’Here, have my hat,’’ said Magnus and placed it on top of Alec’s ruffled hair. He adjusted the hat and then smiled. ‘’There, it’ll keep you warm,’’ muttered Magnus, his hands gently slipping down, stopping on Alec’s neck.

Alec gulped as he was looking into Magnus’ eyes. They were so close, he could almost feel Magnus’ hot breath against his cheek. And was he leaning in? Or was it Magnus? Alec didn’t know, but they were getting closer, Alec’s eyes closing on their own and before something could really happen-

‘’ _ Magnus, is that you?’’  _ asked a voice from inside and both of them flinched, quickly pulling apart. It was Asmodeus and Magnus was annoyed - there went his first kiss with Alec! He pouted, but then smiled. Alec seemed flustered as ever, but he managed to recover and he felt a little bit disappointed, he wasn’t going to lie.  _ But they did say they were taking things slow.  _ Alec didn’t really know how slow should they be for it to be classified as  _ slow.  _

‘’That would be my dad,’’ said Magnus and sighed sadly. ‘’I better get going,’’ said Magnus.

‘’Y-yeah, um, me too, I should-’’

‘’Call me when you get home?’’ asked Magnus and Alec quickly nodded.

‘’For sure,’’ said Alec. ‘’Thank you again, I had an amazing time.’’

‘’Me too,’’ said Magnus. They said their goodbyes, Magnus smiled as he watched Alec walk away. Then he stepped inside, closed the door and groaned. ‘’Dad!’’ whined Magnus and marched inside. He found Asmodeus in the living room and he crossed his arms on top of his chest. ‘’Thank you  _ very much! _ ’’ groaned Magnus and Asmodeus arched his brow.

‘’Did… what did I do this time?’’ deadpanned Asmodeus.

‘’You are the reason I didn’t get my first kiss with my Archer,’’ whined Magnus. He then took off his coat and then stomped towards the living room again and then he sighed sadly. It would be probably too soon but then again Alec was very vocal about how comfortable he was with doing other stuff when it was just them. Huffing, he couldn't even look at his dad and he was of course just being too dramatic. It was his dad's trait and Asmodeus was curious to hear this - his boy met with Archer?!  _ And didn't tell him?!  _ Asmodeus was hurt - betrayal!

"You met with Archer and didn't tell me?" asked Asmodeus and Magnus only rolled his eyes. "So, who is… wait  _ first kiss?!" _

"I've known for a while now," said Magnus and Asmodeus curiously looked over. "It's a school mate of mine," said Magnus but of course wasn't going to reveal who it was. It wasn't like his dad would recognise him, but still!

"Is he cute?"

"Dad," whined Magnus but then smiled. "Yes. Very," said Magnus and hummed. "He's a football player," said Magnus but that was as far he was going to go into details.

Asmodeus frowned. "A jock?" he asked. "But I thought-"

"He's different," said Magnus softly because he knew where Asmodeus was aiming with his question and the man smiled happily.

"My baby is dating a football player," said Asmodeus and Magnus huffed.  _ Oh he was so glad that Alec decided not to come inside.  _ His father would embarrass him! "Were you on a date?"

"Sort of," said Magnus.

"It's a pity you didn't invite him inside, I'd love to meet him," said Asmodeus and Magnus shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Don't you roll your eyes at your father," said Asmodeus. "Will you be seeing him again?" asked the man curiously and Magnus flushed a bit, his smile growing wide again and he nodded.

"Yes."

"Oh," said Asmodeus and then waggled his eyebrows. "So it's safe to assume things are going well?" asked the man and Magnus nodded again. "That's so exciting," said Asmodeus happily and Magnus snorted but at the same time he was happy that his father was so supportive.  _ Maybe too supportive? _ Magnus chuckled and then sighed. "When will you bring him over again?"

"Papa!" whined Magnus and Asmodeus laughed.

"Sorry, sorry," said Asmodeus, who knew that he was being too excited but at the same time he was just so happy for his son! "But I'm just so excited - my boy has finally found someone!" exclaimed Asmodeus and Magnus bit his lip and nodded.

_ Yeah he was happy as well! _


	11. Chapter 11

It’s been a month, it’s been almost a month since Magnus has figured out Archer’s true identity and Alec couldn’t even believe that already that much time has passed. It was fun - hanging out with Magnus. He was happier than ever and the time was passing fast without even him really realising it. But January was already coming to an end and Alec was just trying to make sense of where in the world time went so fast, but then again he was spending most of his free time with Magnus and it wasn’t really a wonder why time passed by so fast. Being with Magnus was amazing and Alec was slowly starting to come out of his shell a little bit more and he was already seriously thinking about telling his parents and Jace about him and Magnus, but there were still a few doubts at the back of his mind and he still wasn’t completely sure, but Magnus was being supportive about it. 

Magnus was  _ so supportive,  _ he always made sure that Alec was comfortable about everything and he was super assuring about everything. Magnus never wanted to rush things and he was just there for Alec; being a supportive boyfriend that Alec deserved. They’ve gone out on a few dates more and it made him smile just how far Alec has become. He was beginning to become more confident and Magnus liked that very much.  _ Confident Alec was amazing!  _

Still, he didn’t get to have his first kiss with his Archer and it was kind of… a sign from the Universe maybe that he needed to wait? Because every time their first kiss was about to happen something or someone decided to ruin their little moment and Magnus stopped trying -  _ when it would happen, it would.  _ It was very unfortunate though, but at the same time, there wasn’t much that he could do. Just hanging out with Alec was more than enough for him because he was really having a great time and he sighed happily as he looked over to his side, where Alec was standing. They’ve just gotten together to school  _ again _ and Alec was in the process of taking off his winter jacket, his scarf already tucked in the locker and Magnus grinned, because Alec’s hair was messy because he was wearing a hat before. Not really messy, but just fluffy and Alec looked like a disheveled sparrow. But in a cute way and he wanted to run his fingers through Alec's hair.

“Ugh, it really started snowing on our way here, huh,” commented Alec as he looked through the school window and Magnus nodded. Yep, it started snowing and he wrinkled his nose. He missed spring, he couldn’t wait for spring to finally come, but it was still a long wait until then. Or not such a long wait, glancing at Alec, who was now combing his hair with his fingers and he looked over at Magnus. ‘’How does my hair look??” asked Alec and Magnus chuckled. Alec managed to ruffle it up even more, somehow.

“It looks,” he said, looking up and down and then he chuckled. “Fluffy.”

“And this is why I hate wearing hats,” whined Alec because his hair was somehow leaned towards hating him. No matter how much he tried to get it under control, it somehow always decided to not listen to him and he huffed. Alec placed his big palms on top of his head and then pulled onto his hair hard, taking in a deep breath. “Better?” asked Alec and Magnus laughed softly because Alec’s hair was indeed stuck down, but it looked a little bit-

“I mean at least is not sticking out everywhere anymore?” asked Magnus and Alec whined. If Magnus was being completely honest, he liked the other look much better. Fluffy Alec was soft and Alec just decided to give up on his hair because it hated him and there was nothing that he could do.  _ Maybe shave it?  _ “Can I?” asked Magnus softly before he reached up with his hands and Alec just nodded. He was a lot more comfortable with being touchy, feely with Magnus in the public and he didn’t even notice it. Still, Magnus decided to ask as Alec still wasn’t officially out. Alec didn’t really think of it much and he just wanted to get his hair under control before the classes were about to start!

Magnus’ heart sped up a little bit as he slid his fingers through Alec’s hair because he wanted to do that for a while now, biting on his lip and then he gently ruffled Alec’s hair up and then combed it back a little bit, trying to tame Alec’s hair and after a few minutes he managed to get Alec’s hair looking like its usual self and Alec was just looking into Magnus’ eyes, his cheeks red and he then ducked his head down as Magnus withdrew his hand and placed it behind his back. “There,” said Magnus and Alec huffed under his breath and then clasped his hands together.

“I-I look, um, good now?” asked Alec softly and Magnus quickly nodded -  _ of course!  _ “Good, um, good to know,” said Alec and Magnus softly giggled. Alec was leaning back against the locker as Magnus stepped a little bit closer to him and Alec realised that they’ve been standing pretty close to each other, but he didn’t even bother looking around to see if anyone saw them, he couldn’t. He was too focused on Magnus’ face, his eyes falling upon Magnus’ lips and he dragged his tongue over his lower lip.  _ God, he wanted to kiss him so much!  _ His throat was getting dry and Alec’s heart was racing. Before he could do anything else though, the school bell rang and Magnus quickly jumped back and Alec cursed under his breath.  _ Damn in!  _

“Uh,” said Magnus, who was also kind of flustered - at least Alec thought so! And he felt oddly proud of it every time that he managed to make  _ Magnus Bane  _ flustered. If felt as a huge achievement to him and he then grinned. “First period has, um, started,” said Magnus and Alec pressed his lips together and then nodded.

“Yeah, we should, um, get going,” said Alec and Magnus nodded - such a pity that the first period has already started. He wanted to spend more time with Alec, just chatting and hanging out! But then again, he could always do that after school and he couldn’t wait to walk Alec back to his place!

* * *

“So, is it safe to say that things are going well between you and Magnus?” asked Izzy, who was now in Alec’s room and Alec just huffed under his breath and didn’t reply. Alec was supposed to be helping her with her science project, but Alec had a feeling that his sister didn’t need any help at all and that she just wanted to ask how things were between him and Magnus. Alec didn’t say much at start, but his smile was growing when Izzy mentioned Magnus and she smiled. “I’m so happy for you two!” she said happily and Alec glanced at her and then just rolled his eyes. Again. 

“I didn’t even say anything,” said Alec and Izzy chuckled.

“But the smile on your face said it all!” said Izzy and Alec quickly stopped smiling and Izzy was laughing again because Alec was hilarious. “Magnus told me that you two had another date yesterday,” said Izzy and Alec didn’t reply, but the smile was back on his lips and Izzy chuckled. “Aw, that’s so sweet, where did he take you this time?” she asked, but Alec didn’t say much more than that. Some things were supposed to stay private even if it was just another trip to the mall. It was going to keep Izzy wondering and he grinned - he liked teasing his siblings like that!

“Someplace nice,” said Alec and Izzy was already invested. 

“Oh, where?” asked Izzy and Alec shrugged and then opened up Izzy’s textbook and she just groaned because Alec wasn’t playing fair. “Oh, come on, that’s not fair, I told you all about my date with Simon,” said Izzy and Alec’s face darkened and he wrinkled his nose because yes, she did that.  _ In many, many details.  _

“I know,” deadpanned Alec. “In way too many details,” he said and then shrugged. It wasn’t anything like  _ that _ , but Simon took Izzy onto a tech convention that was in the mall last week and Alec was just… not that he was a technophobe, but he just didn’t get the obsession with technology and stuff like that. There were more nerd stuff that Izzy was talking about that Simon got her interested in and he really was not in the mood. But he was glad that Lewis was treating Izzy like he was supposed to - he was nice and good to her and  _ he better!  _ Because Alec had him on his perimeter for sure!

“You’re no fun,” said Izzy and then pouted.

“This isn’t supposed to be  _ fun _ , you’re supposed to be working on your project and I should be helping you,” said Alec and then crossed his arms on top of his chest and his younger sister just whined and then leaned back in her chair and just pressed her lips together.  _ Alec really wasn’t going to reveal anything about him and Magnus?!  _ But she was the one that got them to make up back then, so Alec should share just a little bit and- Izzy bit her tongue and then took in a deep breath.  _ Right, she was prying way too much!  _

“Okay, okay,” said Izzy and Alec chuckled. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to share things about him and Magnus it was just once he started talking about Magnus, he couldn’t stop! Once he was talking about Magnus with Jace all the way back home from school and realised it after they reached home. Jace didn’t ask many questions, but Alec could feel the weirded out look on his face.  _ That was why he was trying to be a bit more careful!  _ But then again, he was sure that Izzy would gladly listen to all of his rambling and he then smiled softly and gently nudged Izzy with his elbow.

“Things are going amazing,” whispered Alec and Izzy perked up.

“Tell me stuff, Alec,” said Izzy and Alec looked down. “Have you already kissed?”  _ Of course she was going to ask that!  _ As Izzy asked that her voice got a little bit high pitched and Alec started laughing and Izzy frowned again because what the hell? She thought that Alec was going to open up a little bit and- 

“Not telling,” said Alec and there was a little playful grin on his face. “Tell me more about your project, Iz,” teased her Alec, asking with the same tone of voice as she had before when she was asking him about his relationship with Magnus and Izzy groaned and then just decided to stop trying, for now! “Tell me stuff, Iz, confide in your big brother, I’ll help you get to know your project a bit better and before you know it-” he started, but then Izzy threw her pillow at him, picking it up from her bed and Alec started laughing on top of his lungs.

‘’By the way,’’ said Izzy as the two of them started working on the project and Alec glanced over at her. ‘’That annoying teammate of yours asked to the prom.  _ Again _ ,’’ she groaned and Alec glanced over at her and arched his brow.  _ Raj?  _

‘’Raj?’’

‘’Yeah, him,’’ said Izzy and rolled her eyes because she was getting tired of it. At first he was only annoying but now he was really starting to get on her nerves and she gritted her teeth and then huffed under her breath. Alec was pissed as well because he warned Raj what was about to happen if he was going to be nagging Izzy too much about the prom thing, but since Izzy told him that he had asked her  _ again _ to the prom that meant that he asked her before?! How many times?! Alec felt his blood boiling with anger and he pressed his lips together.

‘’Izzy, how many times did he ask you?’’ asked Alec carefully and Izzy shrugged.

‘’I stopped counting honestly, but it’s just,’’ said Izzy and then groaned. ‘’He’s just so annoying and the way he tries to pick me up makes me sick. Just such a douche,’’ she said because apparently Raj thought that being a jerk was somehow make her impressed? That day he insulted her boyfriend in front of her and Izzy snapped. 

‘’I told him that I’ll fucking punch him if he doesn’t stay away from you,’’ hissed Alec and then looked at Izzy. ‘’You should’ve said something that he’s bothering you before,’’ said Alec and Izzy just waved it off.

‘’I didn’t want you to worry too much about nothing, really,’’ said Izzy and Alec kept his eyes on her. ‘’I mean it, I’m okay. Though I wonder if that slap will leave a mark,’’ she said and Alec’s eyes grew wide - wait, what?

‘’Did he-’’

‘’Oh, no, I slapped him,’’ said Izzy and Alec’s jaw dropped. ‘’He insulted my boyfriend, I was just being protective,’’ said Izzy and Alec snorted because that was  _ amazing.  _ ‘’Man, it felt good!’’

‘’Not fair, I’ve always wished to do that - I can’t believe you beat me up to it,’’ said Alec and Izzy giggled. There they were - bonding over how much they wanted to beat up Raj and honestly it was such a hot topic to bond over. But Alec was really pissed off because Raj was walking on a very thin line -  _ trying to get with his sister, trying to threaten him.  _ Just what in the world was his goal there?!

* * *

As Alec arrived to school the next day he noticed that there was a note slipped inside of his locker and at first he felt his heart speeding up a little bit because maybe he thought that it was a love quote from Magnus? Magnus had an early class that day, so that was why he came in school alone with Izzy and Jace -  _ maybe Magnus wanted to surprise him.  _ Alec was feeling giddy inside and he quickly grabbed the little piece of paper and quickly opened it up - but instead of happiness, he felt  _ dread.  _

**I know about you and Bane.**

Alec felt the world stopping in front of his eyes and he shuddered, taking in a deep breath and he pressed his lips together. There were a lot of students around, but he could only hear the sound of his breathing, his heart beating fast and rapid and he felt dizzy. Not the usual kind and he quickly tried turned the note around, but it wasn’t signed.  _ Of course it wasn’t.  _ Even though it wasn’t, Alec knew that it was from Raj - he was literally the only one that has been bothering him about Magnus and he swallowed thickly. He suddenly felt cold and he quickly tucked the note into his pocket, trying to act as if nothing happened.

_ Now what - what was going to happen?  _ Alec was looking around, but Raj wasn’t there and he quickly took in a deep breath and tried his best to remain calm, but he could feel eyes on him.  _ Others were staring!  _ Alec looked around again and he realised that nobody was really watching him. It was just him and his paranoia again, but this time it was justified. Raj somehow figured it out? And was now going to bully him?! Alec gulped and bit his lip. 

And just as he was getting comfortable with telling others, he was going to take that away from him? That was cruel and he knew that he shouldn’t let the other have such an impact on him. He should take that power away from Raj and he just rubbed his palms together, trying to contain himself, but he jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and he quickly turned around. Luckily it was just Jace. ‘’Alec, all okay there?’’ asked Jace and Alec nodded.

‘’Yep,’’ said Alec.

‘’You sure? You’re pale,’’ said Jace and Alec looked down. Not only that but Alec was shaking and was looking around as if he was searching for something or someone? Jace wished he could help somehow, but- ‘’Dude, you don’t seem fine at all,’’ said Jace and Alec glanced at him. ‘’Tell me what happened,’’ said Jace and Alec opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.  _ He wanted to tell Jace so bad, but at the same time…  _

‘’I really am okay, Jace, let’s get to class,’’ said Alec and gently tapped Jace’s shoulder and the blonde narrowed his eyes and then decided to ask Izzy about it, but she also didn’t know what could be the reason for Alec’s bad mood - he seemed fine on their way to school. Jace had a feeling that something really  _ serious _ happened because Alec had a look of sheer panic and fear on his face.  _ Something he never saw on his brother’s face before.  _

* * *

‘’Mind if I sit with you all?’’ asked Magnus. It was the lunch break and Magnus hurried over to Jace, Izzy and Alec, who were all sitting together around the same table and the other two quickly replied that they didn’t mind, but Alec didn’t say anything. Instead, he was just sitting there and was staring at his own food and didn’t even feel hungry. He has been like that for the entire day and Jace was really starting to worry. At first he thought that maybe Magnus and Alec had a fight, but Magnus was acting as if nothing happened, so it had to be something else. 

Magnus happily looked over at Alec, who didn’t even notice him there and he pouted. But Alec was completely spiraling out of control, the worries slowly eating him from the inside out and he didn’t know how to stop it - who did Raj already tell? How many people already knew? Raj probably told already someone because he wasn’t someone that kept secrets, he  _ spread _ rumours and he just bit his lip and then just took in a deep breath. Izzy looked over at Jace, who just shrugged and then sighed. They both tried so hard to cheer Alec up throughout the day, but it wasn’t helping.

Magnus also noticed that something appeared wrong. Alec was kind of ignoring him throughout the day. It was just weird - before he would at least stop by his desk and chat with him, wink and smile from the distance, but that day was nothing of that and he hummed. And now as well - Alec didn’t even greet him and his heart fell -  _ did something happen.  _ Magnus tried to keep the mood light, so he decided to approach with a joke and he gently nudged Alec.

‘’Hey if you don’t hurry up with that, I’ll steal it,’’ said Magnus and gently pulled Alec’s tray to his direction and Alec finally snapped out of it. He looked to his side and saw Magnus there - when did he get there? Alec didn’t cheer up though and he just pulled the tray back and took in a deep breath.

‘’Magnus, when did you get here?’’ asked Alec, his voice monotone. 

‘’Just now,’’ said Magnus and then cocked his head to the side - something seemed definitely off about Alec. He could see that there was worry written all over his face and he couldn’t even look Magnus in the eyes, he was that paranoid someone was going to get suspicious of their relationship. ‘’Hey, what happened?’’ asked Magnus softly and Alec felt guilty for pushing Magnus away and he just shrugged.

‘’Nothing.’’

‘’He’s been acting like that ever since we’ve gotten to school,’’ explained Jace. ‘’He refuses to tell me what happened as well,’’ he said and then Magnus looked at Izzy, who also shrugged as she didn’t know what was going on, but still she wanted to do something to help her brother. Magnus thought about it for a little longer, but Alec’s eyes travelled around the cafeteria and he flinched when he saw Raj stepping down the stairs, coming down to the cafeteria and Alec froze up when their eyes locked. 

Raj’s eyes were laughing at him and Alec quickly turned around.  _ It was Raj, now there was no doubt who left that note in his locker!  _ Alec was nervously trying to get himself to do something, but he was just too nervous and he didn’t like how  _ close _ to them Raj sat down. Alec was the only one who noticed Raj and as soon as the other sat down, Alec stood up. He needed to get the hell away from there and he just took in a deep breath and it was Magnus’ hand around his wrist that stopped him from leaving so suddenly. Afraid, Alec quickly pushed Magnus’ hand away and Magnus’ eyes widened.  _ Did he do something wrong _ ?

‘’Alec, where are you-’’

‘’I need to go,’’ said Alec and Magnus pressed his lips together.

‘’At least have a bite of something, you didn’t even touch your food,’’ said Magnus, worried. Now he was very worried. This wasn’t like Alec at all!

‘’I’m not really hungry,’’ mumbled Alec.

‘’At least sit down with us and-’’

‘’I’m sorry, I-I really can’t,’’ said Alec, eyes glancing over at Raj and Magnus looked over to where Alec was looking.  _ Raj.  _ Magnus’ soul darkened and he allowed Alec to leave because he didn’t want to make a scene about it, but at the same time he was still worried. Alec did mention Raj pissing him off the last time, but he didn’t mention what did he want. It couldn’t be anything good and Magnus huffed but decided - he was going to have a talk with Alec after the practice. He was going to wait for him!

* * *

‘’Kind of jumpy today, Lightwood?’’ asked Raj and started laughing in the very most annoying way he could. Alec gritted his teeth and he tried to get the hell away from Raj, but he followed him for some reason and Alec ran to the other side of the gym. It was the end of the practice, but Alec decided to stay behind and train. Not really, he just wanted to clear his mind, promising Jace that he was okay and that he should get going home because he had a ton of homework. Jace left, but with a lot of difficulties. Alec grumbled as Raj apparently wanted to stay behind and make his day even worse. ‘’I expected more from our quarterback!’’

‘’Leave me alone.’’

‘’No, no, no,’’ said Raj and then shook his head. ‘’This is how this is going to work from now on - you’ll listen to what  _ I  _ have to say or the word will get out,’’ said Raj. ‘’I think you’ve got my little note today, huh?’’ he asked and Alec wanted to-  _ No.  _ He took in a deep breath and then bit his lip. He just didn’t understand - why was Raj doing all of this? Alec never did anything to him! ‘’Good, so from now on you’ll do as I say,’’ said Raj and Alec felt sick.  _ He wasn’t going to let Raj bully him!  _

‘’Yeah, right,’’ blurted Alec out, but maybe he shouldn’t have because Raj didn’t like how cocky he was being and his eyes darkened.

‘’Better watch what you say, Lightwood, or I’ll tell the whole school that you’re a-’’ he started, but Alec quickly stomped over to him, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and then pinned him against the wall. Hard. He was going to beat him up and he didn’t even care about the consequences! Raj was only laughing because he just knew that he had power over Alec and he was going to enjoy it!

‘’Just… why are you doing this?’’ hissed Alec. ‘’I never did anything to you, quit it, you have no-’’

‘’It’s always  _ all _ about you,’’ spat out Raj. ‘’Do you know how many years I’ve lived in your  _ shadow? _ ’’ asked Raj. ‘’It’s time to change that and if you don’t listen, I’ll tell the whole school,’’ he said and Alec clenched his jaw. Alec didn’t even try to deny it because he was just too-

‘’Stop this,’’ hissed Alec, but was almost begging at the same time. ‘’It has nothing to do with you.’’

‘’I don’t care,’’ said Raj and Alec pulled back, quickly releasing and he truly felt as if the entire world around him was slowly colliding. It was all falling apart! Raj was going to take away from him the most important thing! 

‘’And just what exactly do you want from me?’’ asked Alec, his voice shaky.

‘’You’ll soon find out,’’ said Raj and walked past Alec and Alec’s heart fell into the pit of his stomach. ‘’Until then you better watch you back, Lightwood because I’ll make sure I’ll be keeping my eye on you,’’ said Raj and then finally left the gym. Alec cursed and then looked down. 

‘’Fuck!’’ yelled Alec out on the top of his lungs and then kicked the wall a bit too hard, biting into his lip. He was stressed and pissed off - just what the fuck was Raj’s deal? He thought that toying with Alec was so much fun?! There was nothing funny about it, it was a serious deal, but of course, Raj wasn’t going to understand it. To him, all of this was just a joke and Alec pressed his lips together.  _ Fucker!  _ He was going to beat him up! He was! Alec looked down, feeling defeated and he didn’t like it at all - he didn’t like feeling so helpless and he gritted his teeth. ‘’Fucking Raj,’’ hissed Alec and then decided to blow out some steam with working out - push-ups were next on his list!

* * *

‘’Still going at it?’’ asked a voice and Alec turned around. Alec completely lost track of time, so he didn’t even know for how long he was in there and when he turned around he saw Magnus standing in there as well, coming closer to him. Magnus tried to be patient and wait for Alec outside the gym, but because it’s been over an hour since Alec was supposed to be done and he still wasn’t out, he decided to see what was going on. He found Alec still training and he shook his head - was the coach pushing Alec so much? That was completely unfair. Alec quickly glanced down, standing up and he then shuddered. His body wasn’t going to like him tomorrow because he’s been forcing the work out for the last half an hour.

‘’Yeah, um, I, I just-’’

‘’Coach is making you work too hard,’’ said Magnus and then stepped closer. He wanted to reach out and hold Alec’s hand, but the jock quickly stepped back and flinched. ‘’Relax, it’s just us, I made sure,’’ said Magnus and Alec felt like the biggest asshole. Then again that wasn’t the first time that Alec refused contact with him and he huffed. ‘’Tell me what happened,’’ said Magnus and Alec shook his head.

‘’Nothing.’’

‘’I know when you’re lying to me,’’ said Magnus and Alec felt his heart falling to the pit of his stomach and he bit his lip. He didn’t want Magnus to get involved with all of this, but at the same time he felt like he was going to burst if he wasn’t going to tell to someone what Raj was doing to him. ‘’Did I do something wrong?’’

‘’No,’’ said Alec quickly shaking his head. ‘’I’m not… you did nothing wrong.’’

‘’So it’s Raj,’’ said Magnus and Alec didn’t reply. ‘’Tell me what has he done to you?’’ asked Magnus, his face dark and he was going to smack the idiot silly. ‘’You shouldn’t… in relationships you don’t have to carry burned only on your own,’’ said Magnus and Alec glanced up at him. ‘’You should share your feelings even if they’re not always good. Relationships take effort,’’ said Magnus and Alec huffed.

‘’It’s just-’’

‘’Yes?’’ asked Magnus and saw that Alec was shaking. ‘’Alexander.’’

Alec’s heart jumped when Magnus mentioned his full name. ‘’Raj knows-knows,’’ said Alec and Magnus arched a brow. ‘’About us,’’ he said and Magnus’ eyes widened. ‘’I don’t know how he figured it out, but that-that doesn’t really matter,’’ said Alec, talking fast and he was again feeling dizzy. ‘’He said that if-if I don’t listen to him he’ll out me to the whole school and-’’

‘’That fucking idiot,’’ said Magnus and then decided that he needed to remain calm for Alec’s sake because he could imagine what he was going through. That fucking idiot was going to take away from Alec something so important and meaningful! And after all progress that he made! ‘’Alexander,’’ said Magnus softly and then stepped closer, Alec reaching out and he grabbed onto Magnus’ hand. He was terrified.

‘’I’m afraid, Magnus,’’ said Alec, his voice small and barely audible. Magnus cursed.

‘’I won’t let him,’’ said Magnus and Alec glanced down. ‘’I promise,’’ said Magnus and Alec didn’t say much. ‘’I’ll always,  _ always _ have your back, I’ll fucking kick his ass so hard… oh my God,’’ he said and then he shuddered. Magnus was shaking from anger and he then looked up at Alec. ‘’I won’t let him bully you,’’ said Magnus and Alec took in a deep breath.

‘’Neither will I, that fucking idiot can go-’’

‘’I mean it,’’ said Magnus. ‘’I won’t let him hurt you,’’ said Magnus and Alec huffed and then bit his lip. ‘’That’s just disgusting,’’ said Magnus. ‘’How are there still people like him around,’’ said Magnus and Alec just shrugged. ‘’It’s… look,’’ said Magnus and Alec glanced up at him. Magnus made Alec sit down and the jock was just sitting there in silence. ‘’I’ll make sure his mouth stays shut,’’ said Magnus and Alec laughed bitterly. ‘’I promise.’’

‘’Yeah, but-’’

‘’You, just,’’ said Magnus and then put his backpack down. ‘’You must be starving, you didn’t have anything for lunch, so I… I kind of went overboard at the vending machines, but,’’ he said and Alec’s eyes widened when he saw that all that Magnus had in his backpack was food and he smiled. Finally. Just a little bit, but Magnus was able to make him smile. ‘’Eat, just a little bit, okay?’’ asked Magnus and Alec nodded. Honestly he was starving and the fact that Magnus cared so much to probably buy every single thing that was in there touched him so much that he teared up.  _ Yep, he teared up.  _ It was a long and stressful day after him. 

‘’Thank you,’’ muttered Alec and his lower lip shook.

‘’Don’t… don’t cry, Raj isn’t worth it, I promise,’’ said Magnus. ‘’People like him always end up miserable later in life,’’ he said and Alec nodded. Magnus pulled out a pack of cookies and Alec grabbed them because he was indeed very hungry and as soon as he bit into the cookie he felt even more emotional. 

‘’You’re the best.’’

‘’No, darling, I’m really-’’

‘’I love y-’’ started Alec and his voice trailed off. ‘’This cookie, is the best cookie I ever had,’’ he said and then sniffled. Magnus’ eyes widened because he had a feeling what Alec was about to say before and he gave him a little smile. Thankfully, Alec didn’t really start crying, but Magnus still cupped his face and scooted a bit closer and Alec sniffled again. 

‘’It’ll be okay, I promise, all will be okay,’’ said Magnus and Alec nodded and mustered a little smile. He felt a lot better after telling Magnus and there was only one thing on Magnus’ mind; Raj was going down!


	12. Chapter 12

Magnus knew that it was probably not a very wise idea to rile up Raj too much, but he just couldn’t not do anything. Alec was a nervous wreck and he needed to do something. He wasn’t an aggressive person and violence was never an answer and he knew that staying away from Raj and just ignoring him would be the best way possible, but he just  _ couldn’t _ move past it. Alec decided not to go to school the next day and Magnus was fuming because he had just walked past Raj’s locker and there was the idiot, chatting with a few friends of his. Alec’s name was somehow mentioned and his soul darkened because he could hear him mocking Alec in front of his friends and he somehow managed to walk past him and not make a scene in front of the whole school, but as he walked past him, Raj started making more snarky remarks and Magnus bit down onto his lip.  _ Hard.  _ Yeah, he definitely wasn’t going to let this slide just like that and he was going to have a little talk with Raj. After school. He was going to talk some sense into Raj.

Then again, he wasn’t too hopeful about it because talking some sense into  _ Raj  _ of all people was somewhat close to a miracle! Still, he had a few things that he needed to get off of his chest the main one being -  _ if he continued to mess with Alexander like that, he was going to suffer the consequences.  _ Magnus wanted to resolve this in a peaceful manner, but he had a feeling that he was going to resolve to some ways that he wasn’t going to be too proud of later on. Still, he was going to protect Alec with every fibre that he had in him. 

A day in school without Alec sucked very much so, so he was getting more and more annoyed. Alec did send a few texts to him throughout the day, but Magnus sadly didn’t have the time to stay in touch as the professors were ruthless and maybe he should have stayed home too. Or skip school to go and see if Alec was okay. But Alec did say that he was okay and he decided to believe him - they’ve had a long talk after that and Magnus huffed under his breath because this whole thing just sucked. It made sense that he wanted to stay home after the stunt Raj was trying to pull off. It was probably for the best as well, to stay back a little bit and clear his thoughts. 

Much later that day, as he was done with the drama club he was over at his locker and was getting ready to go home. Unfortunately he couldn’t visit Alec that day because he had a lot to study for - there were exams approaching and he needed to make up for the lost time. He didn’t really pay a lot of attention to school lately as he was really distracted - having a new relationship took a lot of time and even though he and Alec weren’t spending time together, Magnus was thinking of Alec and it was really hard to get any works done - so he decided to just grit his teeth and hurry home. After the study session he was going to call Alec to see if he was okay. He was on his way when he heard laughing -  _ that annoying laughter that only belonged to one idiot.  _ Raj, of course.

_ Walk away, don’t make a scene, walk away- _

“I mean does it really surprise you?” asked Raj and another person started laughing. “Lightwood’s fucking weak,” he said and Magnus’ face reddened with anger, shaking all over and he wasn’t going to walk away because he just knew that he was going to walk over there and- “One little threat and he goes crying home to mommy,” he said and Magnus looked around the corner and saw Raj talking with another idiot.  _ Aldertree.  _ Oh, those two made the perfect pair, truly. A couple of brainless bullies.

“Tell me about it,” said Aldertree. “A spineless coward,” he said and Magnus’ face darkened as they continued ripping Alec apart with their words.  _ They should be as grateful to have someone as amazing on their team.  _ Both of them were just ungrateful and jealous idiots. “And what you say is true, you know him and Bane?” asked Aldertree and Magnus saw Raj nodding. His stomach dropped because what Raj was doing was just disgusting. “That’s gross man.”

“I know,” said Raj and wrinkled his nose. “I tried warning him that Bane was gonna turn him but,” said Raj and then sighed. “He didn’t want to listen to me,” he said and Magnus arched his brow.  _ Turn him?  _ What, was he a vampire or something?! “But now that I know I can use it to my advantage,” said Raj. “If he wants me to keep my mouth shut he’ll have to do as I say,” said Raj and the other was laughing next to him.  _ They just thought that all of this was just a joke?  _ What a pair of-

“And if he doesn’t?”

“I’ll put in on blast, will make sure that the entire school knows,” said Raj and that was when Magnus heard it enough. He didn’t even think what he was doing and he quickly hurried over to the two idiots, biting on his lip as he wanted to remain calm, but that option completely flew through the window and he had Raj quickly pinned against his locker, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and Raj’s eyes widened when he was suddenly shoved back and hit the locker with a loud bang.  _ Magnus made sure that it hurt.  _ “What the-”

“Shut your mouth,” hissed Magnus and Aldertree came closer to get him off of Raj, but the other shook his head. Raj wasn’t afraid of Magnus. In fact he was quite amused to see what he was going to do. Raj had his fair share of stereotypes about Magnus, so being really hurt by him didn’t even come close to what he was expecting that was going to happen.  _ He was so,so wrong.  _ “Do you even realise what you’re doing here?” asked Magnus and Raj shrugged.

“Having fun?” asked Raj.

“Fun?” scoffed Magnus and rammed Raj harder against the lockers and the other winced out in pain.  _ Okay, that actually kind of hurt and-  _ “You… you think that this is  _ fun _ ?” asked Magnus, shaking with anger. He was so angry that he couldn’t even form words properly. God, he wanted to kick the living hell out of the other and he just bit his lip and then took in a deep breath. “What you’re doing here is gross and just cruel, stop this,” said Magnus. “It literally has nothing to do with you,” he said and Adeltree snorted by the side. “Oh stay out of it Victor,” grumbled Magnus.

“Oh, he’s angry,” mocked Adeltree.

“I know, I’m so fucking scared,” said Raj and started laughing. “Look, why don’t you go to your boyfriend and tell him that I’m waiting for him,” said Raj. “If he doesn’t show his face in school tomorrow the word will be getting out,” said Raj and Magnus felt sick down to his stomach. How could there be people like Raj still around? Just why was the world so- Magnus took in a deep breath and then gritted his teeth because Raj was walking on a very thin line.  _ He was soon going to be transformed into Magnus’ own personal punching bag!  _

“I’ll say this once and very clear; stay the hell away from Alec,” said Magnus, inching his face closer to Raj and the other wrinkled his nose. “Or else,” said Magnus, his voice dropping and Raj had to laugh -  _ or else?! _

“Or else what? You’ll  _ beat me up _ ?” asked Raj and then shook his head. “Please I can easily take you on with my left hand and-” he started, but the glass was tipped over and it started spilling out - Magnus snapped because he was tired of it all. Them thinking that it was just a joke. Still holding by the collar of his shirt, he formed fist with his hand and made sure that he aimed for his nose. Magnus’ fist got to know Raj’s face from up close, giving him a very deserved punch and then he released him, taking in a deep breath because no matter how much his knuckles hurt, that felt good. 

Raj was taken back because his nose hurt like hell, quickly covering it with his hands and he was cursing. Adeltree grabbed Magnus from the back, turning him around and Magnus winced when the other caught him off guard and managed to punch his just under his lip, his jaw hurting. But Magnus made sure that he stroke back twice as back and he just grabbed Adeltree by his shoulders and then kicked up, his knee hitting up, aiming right for Adeltree’s- Victor released him and Magnus straightened his clothes and then just smiled. He had a split lip and his jaw hurt, but he managed to take on two jocks and he then just cracked his knuckles and looked around. 

“You fucker,” spewed out Adeltree and Magnus laughed because he could just see how their egos were suffering. 

“You’ll be suspended for this, I’ll tell-”

“No you won’t,” said Magnus, picked up his bag again and then grinned. “Because do you really want the whole school to know that you two got your asses whooped by a mere drama kid?” asked Magnus and then grinned because their silence said it all. Magnus had thick skin, he wasn’t going to let the two of them order his around like that. “Thought so, now I’ll be on my way,” said Magnus. “You threaten Alec again and I won’t be holding back next time,” said Magnus and then walked away, feeling quite proud of himself. But then as he got out of school he hoped that he didn’t make things worse. That could possibly make Raj even more motivated to bully Alec and he gritted his teeth-

_ If he tried doing anything like that, Magnus was gonna get him!  _

* * *

‘’Sweetie, do you want to tell me why you didn’t go to school today?’’ asked Maryse. It was dinner, the entire Lightwood household was around the table, eating their dinner and that was the only opportunity that Maryse could ask her son that. He spent the entire day locked away in his room even after she came back home from work. Alec decided to stay home that day, refusing to go to school in the morning and Maryse decided that it was okay if Alec missed a day from school, but Alec still didn’t want to go to school the next day as well - staying home was much better. At least there he didn’t feel nervous all the time. He was safely locked away in his room, but it was worrying both Robert and Maryse. 

Alec flinched when his mother asked him that and he just mumbled something, but didn’t really give them an answer and Izzy looked over at Jace, who only shrugged and they sighed. Izzy didn’t want to get too much into Alec’s personal stuff, but this was beginning to get really worrisome - they just wished that Alec would tell them what was going on; he always closed off when things were serious and it couldn’t have been easy on him. ‘’He’s been like this for a few days now,’’ said Izzy and Maryse nodded. ‘’Did something happen in school?’’ asked Izzy and Alec shook his head. It was a lie.

‘’So something did happen in school,’’ said Robert, who knew when his son was lying - it was very obvious even if Alec was trying to hide it. Something happened in school and he wasn’t going to stand for it. If something was bothering his son, he was gonna go there on his own and straighten things out! Not going to school, avoiding to tell what was going on, trying his best to pretend that everything was okay… was Alec being bullied? ‘’Is someone bullying you?’’ asked Robert and hit the nail on the head.

‘’No.’’

Jace’s jaw dropped and he perked up - if anyone had a reason to bully Alec was Raj! He was on his case for a while now and all because Alec started hanging out with Magnus?! There had to be more to it, but Jace never really questioned it and he just pressed his lips together.  _ He needed to say something.  _ ‘’Is it Raj?’’ he blurted out and the way Alec turned to him, his eyes wide and his face pale - said it all. ‘’I fucking knew it, he did something. Tell me what happened, I’ll go there and beat him up!’’ said Jace.

‘’Just drop it, Jace, it’s not…it’s nothing, really,’’ said Alec, his heart beating much faster and Jace pressed his lips together. Izzy was already fuming because she already slapped the hell out of him, but now her plans were getting a lot darker and- ‘’It’s not… It’s just the stress of exams is getting to me, that’s all,’’ said Alec, but nobody was really buying it. Not even Max, whose face was red with anger.

‘’Raj, who is Raj?!’’ asked the boy and Alec glanced to him. ‘’Tell me where he lives, I’ll go pay him a visit and kick his ass,’’ he said and Alec cracked a little smile. Max would whine a lot and argue a lot with Alec over little things but when it came down to serious things - he was there ready to protect his big brother. Alec was his role model after all and if anyone threatened him…  _ oh, boy, Max was pissed off!  _

‘’No, it’s really-’’

‘’This really isn’t like you,’’ said Maryse. ‘’It’s different, not just the stress of school,’’ said the woman and then she pressed her lips together, wondering if she should say something, but then decided to go ahead and just bring out on the table. It was time to talk about it. ‘’It’s been for a while now, it’s like you’re hiding something,’’ said Maryse and Alec’s heart dropped. Izzy glanced at Alec and bit her lip.  _ Yeah, there was something on his heart, she knew it all.  _ ‘’It’s getting worse, I feel, so if there’s anything you want to tell us, honey, you shouldn’t,’’ she said. ‘’You shouldn’t feel like you have to hide things from us,’’ said Maryse and Alec.

Alec could feel his hands shaking as well and he quickly hid them under the table and then he closed his eyes. Izzy knew that he was going to deflect the question again. She wished that he would just tell their parents - they would understand - but then again, she didn’t know how it felt like, so she didn’t say anything. She knew that it wasn’t her place to tell Alec when Alec should be ready to come out to others. Alec contemplated telling them, but as he glanced up and felt all of the eyes on him, he  _ just couldn’t.  _ His breath shuddered and then he just smiled.

‘’I’m not hiding anything,’’ said Alec.

‘’Alec,’’ said Maryse and Alec just proceeded by eating his dinner and smiled.

‘’Amazing as always, mom,’’ said Alec, his breath shaking, but Maryse finally dropped it and then sighed sadly.  _ As a parent one really wished that they could always protect their children, but at they were growing up, it was getting more and more difficult.  _ Alec was avoiding looking at the others, because he could see how worried they were. Feeling guilty, he just ate in silence and the others followed as well - they didn’t ask more things, Izzy nervously chewing on her lip. 

This was killing her, it was killing her to see Alec struggling like this.

* * *

It took Alec all the willpower that he had to force himself to go to school the next day. One of the reasons was Magnus telling him that Raj was going to out him in front of the whole school if he wasn’t going to show up at school. Alec kind of figured that Raj had already more in store for him - the bullying was going to continue and he didn’t even want to know what Raj was going to demand from him. The other reason for him deciding to go to school was so that his parents wouldn’t be so worried about the whole thing. Magnus told him that he met Raj and Adeltree the day before, but he didn’t mention anything about kicking Raj’s ass, not that he got smacked in return.  _ The other two got it worst anyway -  _ there was no way that Raj was going to admit to being smacked across the face by Magnus. Same went for the other idiot. 

As much as Alec was scared, he was pissed off as well because not only that he was making Raj think that he was a coward, but he couldn’t believe that he was just letting Raj walk all over him! It pissed him off to no end and the thought of Raj outing him on  _ his _ accord was something that he wasn’t going to let happen, so that was why he showed up. But at the same time, he did what he was told and therefore proved to Raj that he was in control.  _ Alec needed to take that control back.  _

He hated it - he hated how he felt. Powerless and scared; there was no way that he could handle going to school like this every day. Trying to not piss Raj off, doing what he told him… there was no freaking way that he would allow himself to be so humiliated! Maybe he was being too proud, but Alec knew that he was worth better than to be Raj’s doormat essentially and he was already thinking to just coming out on his own and then whatever was going to happen, it was going to happen.  _ He would take the power away that Raj got over him.  _ It was on his mind for days now and he was actually thinking of doing it, but he was just-

‘’Okay there, buddy?’’ asked Jace because he saw Alec spacing out over at his locker and Alec snapped out of it and Alec just gave him a little nod and a weak smile. ‘’Good,’’ said Jace and then made his way closer to Alec. ‘’Don’t worry about anything - I’ll keep Raj away for the day, trust me, it’ll be your bodyguard,’’ said Jace and Alec snorted a little bit, taking the books out of the locker and then placed them inside of the bag pressed his lips together.

‘’Thank you,’’ said Alec and Jace looked at the clock. 

‘’Oh, we should hurry up,’’ said Jace and Alec nodded.

‘’I wonder if Magnus is already in class,’’ said Alec and Jace grinned. 

‘’Already thinking of Magnus?’’ asked Jace and was glad - that was how Alec usually reacted and he bit his lip. ‘’All’s back to normal, I see,’’ said Jace as they were walking towards the first period and Alec flushed a little bit, but didn’t say anything. Much to Alec’s luck, Magnus was already sitting there and he quickly hurried over to his desk, cheering up just a little bit. As did Magnus because he was overjoyed to see Alec back in school.  _ He missed him and it was only one day!  _

‘’Alec, you made it!’’ said Magnus happily and Alec nodded. ‘’I missed you yesterday,’’ said Magnus quietly and Alec gulped. Yeah, he missed Magnus too, being home away from Magnus sucked after all. Alec was about to say something, but then he looked at Magnus properly and saw that he was sporting a split lip and faint bruise on the left side of his jaw. 

‘’You’re hurt,’’ said Alec and Magnus glanced down.  _ He was not proud of it.  _

‘’Yeah, um, things got kind of physical with Raj and Adeltree yesterday,’’ said Magnus and Alec’s face darkened.  _ Raj hurt him?!  _ Alec’s anger skyrocketed and he managed to take in a deep breath. They were in classroom, he needed to be calm, but then again, there was just so much that he could take! ‘’I’m okay,’’ said Magnus. 

‘’Raj hurt you?!’’ snapped Alec and his hands were shaking again. ‘’Fucker, I’ll-’’

‘’I’m fine, I promise,’’ said Magnus and Alec’s eyes were again on Magnus’ lip. He needed to kiss it better later! ‘’Besides,’’ said Magnus. ‘’They’re both in worse condition,’’ said Magnus and Alec’s jaw dropped - Magnus took on two jocks?! ‘’I kind of snapped there, got pissed off when I heard them talking shit about you,’’ said Magnus and then huffed under his breath. ‘’I think I sent my message straight though,’’ said Magnus and Alec chuckled, but the anger remained. 

‘’Still, he hurt you and-’’

‘’Alexander,’’ said Magnus softly and Alec shuddered when he said his full name. ‘’I’m just,’’ said Magnus. ‘’I’m very happy to see you coming to school. How are you?’’ asked Magnus softly and Alec shrugged.

‘’Pissed off,’’ said Alec. ‘’But happy to see you,’’ he said and Magnus happily smiled. Alec wanted to reach out and kiss the bruised spot, but he- gritted his teeth and didn’t. Instead, he brushed the back of his palm against Magnus’ and the other smiled softly. ‘’I missed you too,’’ said Alec. Seeing Magnus with that bruise made a flip change within Alec. Essentially Magnus got hurt because of him. Not really, but it sure as hell felt like that and he had it enough. He had enough of this fear and Raj thinking that he could get away with whatever he wanted.

* * *

Alec managed to stay away from Raj for the first few periods, but somehow Raj managed to find him alone just as Alec was heading over to the cafeteria for lunch. He was at his locker when Raj stepped behind him and Alec felt his heart dropping just a little bit as he slowly turned around. ‘’Lightwood, I see that you decided to show your face today,’’ said Raj and Alec gulped, his eyes travelling down. All of the confidence that he had before somehow managed to fly through the window and he was back to-

‘’I… what do you want?’’ muttered Alec.

‘’I’ll let you know,’’ said Raj and then cracked his knuckles. ‘’The first thing - you’ll step down from being the leader of the team,’’ said Raj and Alec arched a brow. ‘’You’ll give the position to me,’’ he said and Alec narrowed his eyes.  _ That was all?  _ ‘’If you want me to keep my mouth shut,’’ said Raj and Alec gulped, but didn’t say anything.

‘’You’re in this for the position on the team?’’ asked Alec.

‘’You’ll also make sure that I’m gonna be going to the prom with your sister,’’ said Raj and now it got personal. Alec’s eyes darkened and he quickly shook his head because  _ there was no way in hell that he was going to let that happen!  _ ‘’Understood? You make that happen or else,’’ said Raj and Alec bit his lip. His heart was hammering against his ribcage and he glanced down. 

‘’I-’’

‘’Also,’’ said Raj and rubbed his palms together. ‘’You’ll bring that bitch of yours to the back of school today,’’ said Raj and then grinned. ‘’I and a few of the other guys have a couple of things to sort out with him,’’ he said and Alec’s face reddened with anger and he formed fists with his hands and then gritted his teeth.  _ Raj really thought that he was going to bring Magnus to get beaten up?  _ Poor, poor unfortunate soul. There really was no hope for this one. Alec was shaking with anger that time. ‘’If you don’t do all of these things, all school will know your dirty secret.’’

Alec’s heart fell for the second time and he took in a deep breath. Yes, fear was present, he was terrified if he was being honest, but at the same time nothing of that was worth it.  _ Nothing.  _ He would much rather have the entire school know about his so-called secret than to have Raj the power to make him hurt the people that he loved. But just the idea that Raj thought it was going to work was just-

‘’Do we have a deal?’’

‘’No,’’ said Alec, his breathing hard and uneven. Raj’s smile disappeared.

‘’You… what did you say?’’ hissed Raj.

‘’No,’’ said Alec and shoved Raj back because he was way too close. 

‘’Fine,’’ said Raj and then backed away. ‘’Fine, okay, yeah… then I’ll tell the others… starting with our team,’’ said Raj because he knew how much being on the team meant to Alec so he was going to be starting where it was going to hurt the most. Alec’s heart fell again, but he didn’t waver one bit.

‘’Go to hell,’’ said Alec, shoved Raj again and then walked past him.

_ Fuck, fuck, fuck!  _

* * *

Alec’s mood worsened as the time for the practice rolled around and because of what Raj said, he decided to go there. He came in there earlier than everyone and was just nervously looking around, waiting for the others to show up and he was biting on his nails.  _ He wasn’t going to let Raj take such an important thing away from him.  _ There was no way that he was going to let Raj just… if he would tell the others then that power would be taken away from Raj and he could just go suck it because he would be powerless. That was what Alec’s plan was just in case if Raj was going to try doing anything stupid like that. 

The next one to join Alec in the gym was Jace and Alec cheered up a little bit, rubbing his palms together and he then took in a deep breath and tried to pretend that he was okay, but it was very much clear to the blonde that Alec was on edge. Still, he didn’t ask much things and he just decided to start warming up with Alec. The other team members started gathering in there - by the side Underhill and Jordan were warming up as well, Alec biting on his lip. Still Raj was nowhere to be seen. Alec’s heart stopped a bit when Sebastian and Aldertree stepped inside of the gym and he huffed. Magnus told him that Victor knew, but did the other as well? They were pretty close friends, so-

Alec looked away because he didn’t like the way they were looking at him. Instead he continued warming up and he was just trying to take him mind off of it. That was until  _ Raj _ finally made an entrance and he looked away. Fuck. Now what? Raj had that grin plastered all over his face and Alec stood up, twisting his fingers nervously. Apparently Raj decided to spare Alec no time and he just took in a deep breath and announced that he had quite the news to share with the others.

‘’Boy, do I have news for all of you today,’’ said Raj and Alec flinched already. Jace looked at him and arched his brow. Alec bit his lip and his heart was hammering hard. He- ‘’It’s quite surprising. And also shocking. Disgusting,’’ he said and Alec’s stomach turned. ‘’Isn’t it, Lightwood?’’ asked Raj and the others looked at him.  _ Stop looking, stop looking!  _

‘’Alec?’’ asked Jace.

‘’Stop this, Raj,’’ muttered Alec and Raj scoffed.

‘’You should've listened, Lightwood,’’ said Raj and then shrugged it off. ‘’Now suffer the consequences,’’ he said and then turned to the others. Alec could tell they were curious and he felt honestly like crying.  _ Raj was going to ruin it all.  _ He was going to take away from him such an important thing that- He needed to say something! His train of thought was all over the place, shaking and everything around him felt surreal. Jace noticed that Alec was nervous and he glanced at Raj.

‘’Leave him alone, idiot!’’

‘’I wonder if you’re still gonna be so protective after you learn that he’s-’’ started Raj, but Alec cut in. Interrupted him.  _ There was no way in hell that Raj was going to out him.  _ Even though the moment wasn’t like he imagined, he still wasn’t letting Raj to take the moment away from him. It was going to happen anyway, so-

‘’Tell them what, Raj?’’ asked Alec, trying to sound confident. ‘’That I’m gay?’’ asked Alec, his face pale and he could see others looking at him. Raj seemed pissed because that was  _ not _ how he imagined this going down. "So? Why should be a big deal? If-if you have a problem with it, it’s on-on you,’’ said Alec. 

Jace’s eyes were wide and  _ everything  _ suddenly fell in places.  _ So much made sense suddenly  _ and he gulped. He was going to talk to Alec more about it later, he had so much to apologise for - for being such an idiot, for trying to make him and Lydia a thing, while Alec… That was coming later, now he had to protect his brother. Alec was trying to keep it together, but Jace knew. ‘’Yeah, what the fuck, man?’’ asked Jace and Alec glanced at him. ‘’I told you to stay the fuck away from my brother,’’ said Jace and stepped in front of Alec.

Alec teared up. One he was afraid, second Jace didn’t waver one bit. ‘’You’re seriously gonna still be on his side?’’ asked Raj. ‘’He lied to us.’’

‘’Gross, man,’’ piped up Sebastian and Alec looked down. His heart fell, but at the same time he was proud of himself.  _ He was able to do it and didn’t let Raj do as he pleased.  _ It might have been a small thing, but to him it meant the world. 

‘’Lied about what exactly?’’ asked Underhill, finally voicing his opinion as he heard enough. He wasn’t one to meddle with things, but when he had enough, he had enough. ‘’Seriously back off, you’re the one who’s gross,’’ he said and glared at Sebastian. ‘’If you’re so obsessed with another person's life so much it seriously means you’re pathetic. Probably lonely too, get a life, Raj,’’ said Underhill and looked at Alec, who was speechless. ‘’Are you okay?’’ asked Underhill softly.

‘’Y-yeah,’’ muttered Alec. 

‘’Are you gay too or something?’’ asked Aldertree and started laughing.

‘’So?’’ asked Underhill. ‘’Seriously what the hell does it matter to you?’’ asked Underhill. 

‘’I can’t believe this, you two are going to really support-’’

‘’Make that three of us,’’ said Jordan and stepped over to Alec as well. ‘’Alec’s our leader and you should show respect. But more than that he’s our friend. Please take yourself and your homophobia out of the gym,’’ said Jordan. ‘’The rest of us don’t want any of you on the team,’’ he said, pointing to the other three and Raj scoffed. 

Alec was shaking, he was… he couldn’t really wrap his head around everything - it just felt surreal.  _ It felt amazing now that he finally said it out loud. He wasn’t afraid anymore and the fact that he had people on his side…  _ he didn’t even know why he thought everyone would be looking at him differently. Jace was beyond pissed off though. ‘’You were the one that was making Alec’s life miserable. Man, you’re gonna get it,’’ said Jace. ‘’I swear to God, I’ll beat you up so hard that you-’’

Alec’s sniffled and then looked down. Yes, he was crying. Seeing Alec in tears made Jace jump and he quickly shoved Raj back. He didn’t know that those were tears of relief and Alec buried his face into his palms. Jordan glanced at Underhill, who stepped closer to Alec and wrapped an arm around him. ‘’Raj’s a fucking dick, don’t listen to him,’’ said Underhill and Jordan nodded. 

‘’Yeah seriously screw him,’’ said Jordan and Alec laughed and then took in a deep breath. 

‘’No thank you,’’ joked Alec and the other two smiled a bit. ‘’Thank you,’’ he said softly. 

Jace was about to take a swing at Raj, but then the coach stepped inside of the gym and broke the fight, pulling Jace on the side. ‘’Break it off, come on, Jace, walk it off,’’ said the coach, but Jace refused.

‘’No way, Raj was bullying Alec and now he’s gonna get his ass whooped so hard that-’’ said Jace, trying to jump Raj again and the coach pulled him back.

‘’I said back off,’’ said the coach, his voice firm and Jace eventually calmed down. ‘’Now can someone tell me what the hell has been going on around here?’’ he asked and crossed his arms on top of his chest. ‘’Raj,’’ he said and the other looked up. Alec gulped and then bit his lip. The coach was a strict man, but he wasn’t-

‘’Alec’s a freak,’’ said Raj. Jace jumped again. ‘’He’s into guys,’’ spat Raj and the coach’s face darkened. ‘’I’m not gonna be on the same team as that freak,’’ grumbled Raj and the man looked at Alec, who turned his head away. He finally released Jace, who went over to Alec, but was still glaring at Raj. The man then stepped closer to Raj and took in a deep breath.

‘’You were bullying Lightwood?’’

‘’Tried to teach him a lesson, sir,’’ said Raj proudly. "I tried to straighten him up."

_ Oh, boy was he barking up the wrong tree right there.  _ ‘’You’re quite right, you won’t have to be on the same team as Lightwood anymore,’’ said the man and Raj grinned happily. ‘’Because you’re not on the team anymore,’’ he said and the look on Raj’s face was priceless. ‘’And if anyone else is of the same opinion as him, get the hell out of my gym,’’ he hissed, his voice low and Alec’s eyes widened.  _ He didn’t expect that!  _ The man knew all about the bullying. His daughter had her fair share of bullies, now married to a woman…  _ he knew.  _ As a father he wasn’t going to let this happen. 

And just like that Raj, Sebastian and Victor weren’t on the team anymore.  _ Jace made sure to tell him all about who was against Alec.  _ Alec was honestly so touched that he was again close to tears and he sniffled and then puffed his cheeks. ‘’Lightwood, how are you feeling?’’ asked the coach. Usually he was a coach - strict man, but now he could feel a fatherly feel behind his voice. He was asking him as a father, not a teacher and Alec smiled. 

‘’Yeah, I'm fine,’’ said Alec. ‘’Thank you.’’

‘’No need to thank me, we don’t tolerate bullying of any sorts here,’’ said the man and Alec nodded, sniffling. ‘’Take a break today, you don’t have to train. I imagine you must be feeling quite stressed,’’ said the man and Alec huffed. Quite the contrary, he felt  _ free.  _ Still he needed to go tell Magnus! Oh he was going to burst if he wasn’t going to tell him! He was still shaking all over, but still!

‘’No, I, um, I’m okay, I can train, can I just, um,’’ asked Alec and the man arched a brow. ‘’Be excused for a few minutes, I have some stuff to do,’’ he mumbled and the man nodded.

‘’Of course,’’ he said softly and Alec thanked him again.

Alec then took in a deep breath and glanced over the other guys. ‘’Thank you, all of-’’ he started, but then couldn’t finish because Jace threw himself around his neck and hugged him. Tight. ‘’Jace, kind of tight on the hugging there, I mean-’’

‘’I’m so sorry, Alec,’’ said Jace.

‘’It’s okay.’’

‘’I’m so proud of you,’’ said Jace and Alec sniffled, nodding and after ten minutes he finally managed to get Jace off. Jace took in a deep breath and then smiled. So, Magnus was probably his boyfriend? Speaking of Magnus… ‘’You need to go tell Magnus, huh?’’ asked Jace because he knew that look.

‘’I have to,’’ said Alec. ‘’But I’ll… we’ll have a proper talk later, promise,’’ said Alec and Jace grinned.

‘’Go get him then, tiger,’’ said Jace and Alec huffed under his breath, but then nodded and literally ran towards the drama department because he knew that Magnus was there. Alec was feeling good, he was feeling like he was on top of the world and he literally barged inside of the drama department, interrupting them in the middle of rehearsal. Magnus arched a brow, but he could see that Alec was a mess - he has been crying. Magnus quickly ran over to the side, excusing himself.

‘’Alec, what happened?’’ asked Magnus and could see Alec was  _ different.  _ But in a good way.

‘’I finally did it,’’ said Alec and Magnus arched a brow. 

‘’Did what?’’

‘’I took the power from Raj. I came out to my teammates and-and they’re supportive about it. Most of them. Coach kicked out anyone that was being a dick about it,’’ said Alec, speaking fast and Magnus’ eyes widened, but he was  _ happy.  _ Free, that was what was different about Alec.  _ He seemed free and wasn’t being held down by stress.  _ ‘’I feel good, I feel amazing. I-’’

‘’I’m so proud of you, Alec,’’ said Magnus quicky and Alec nodded and then grabbed Magnus by the back of his neck and pulled him closer. Feeling on top of the world, he needed to end with the bang, so he pulled Magnus closer and placed his lips on top of his and Magnus’ eyes widened, but he quickly responded, kissing Alec right back.


	13. Chapter 13

The news spread like fire about Alec’s coming out and by the end of the week pretty much everyone knew, not that Alec minded it anymore. He was finally past the stage of worrying what others thought about him, after all he was living for himself and not for the opinions of others. He was in a much better place and even though he still didn’t tell his parents, he had plans. Also he was just so happy that he had such supportive friends. He had a long talk with Jace, who kept on apologising for being such an insensitive jerk about it before because he didn’t realise it, but Alec forgave him a long time ago. After all, he didn’t know and even though he was annoying the hell out of him back then, it was all in the past. Buried and forgotten - what mattered the most was that Jace was being a supportive brother at the moment and Alec was just in awe just how much others were on his side.

Izzy, of course, was beyond proud of her brother. She was just happy that he finally decided to let go off the worries. The change was incredible. Alec always seemed tense, but now he was a changed person. He freely held Magnus’ hand when they walked together in school, he wasn’t afraid to kiss his boyfriend in public. And Izzy was so happy for the two of them. Magnus was so protective of Alec - they truly both deserved each other and to be happy without any other idiots trying to break them apart. 

There were still a few jerks on school, Alec was very well aware of that, but because of what happened to Raj and the others, they didn’t try pulling anything. Alec could see their gazes and he could feel that they were talking behind his back, but honestly as long as they didn’t bother him, he couldn’t care less and it was amazing just how much others cared about who he dated. But then again, he was popular and he was dating another popular student of the school, so they were kind of in the spotlight. Alec didn’t quite like it and neither did Magnus, but at the same time they just tried their best to ignore them. There was nothing else that they could do; some people really were so unhappy with their own lives that they couldn’t stop sticking their noses into other people’s business. 

Raj, Sebastian and Aldertree didn’t get just thrown off the team, but the coach went much further than that and Alec was honestly surprised how much the man has done for his safety. The next day the first thing that he did was go to the principle and tell her just what exactly went down with three of the students on his team and he demanded that real action was going to take place. The truth was being kicked off of the team could truly only add fuel on their bullying and the man wanted to make sure that Alec was safe and sound. He didn’t want one of the students on their school to feel unsafe in any way. So, he told the principle everything that the trio has done.

Suspension.  For a month, for each of them. Raj, Victor and Sebastian got suspended for a  _ month _ and Alec truly did feel safe and glad that he didn’t have to see their faces for a whole month. Also the coach called their parents to school. He made sure that he told Raj's parents all about what his son was pulling off and they did not look happy about it. Maybe that was going to teach them a lesson and if they were going to try pulling any more shit like that, he wasn’t going to hesitate - he was going to make sure that they would get completely suspended from school and Alec was just… he was truly grateful to the man. He couldn’t thank him enough because he truly didn’t have enough words to describe just how much he was grateful. He was going to be forever grateful to the man - the best coach ever.

Magnus smiled when he saw that Alec was spacing out a little bit and he gently nudged him, Alec finally snapping out of it and he glanced over to his side and then just smiled sheepishly and leaned against his boyfriend and then he took in a deep breath. “Sorry, you were saying?” asked Alec and Magnus gave him a cheeky smile. The two of them were over at Magnus’ place. Magnus made sure to lock the door of his room, turn on the music of the stereo on loud so that his father couldn’t really interrupt them and Alec was trying his best not to blush when he glanced into Magnus’ eyes and the other gave him an adorable pout because Alec was ignoring him.

“Were you ignoring me again?” asked Magnus and Alec quickly shook his head - no, it wasn’t like this! Magnus chuckled a little bit when he saw that Alec looked concerned for real and he just gently cupped Alec’s face and Alec nuzzled into the touch, like a little kitten. “I’m kidding,” said Magnus and winked, Alec huffing under his breath and he then smiled as well. “Tell me, what’s on your mind?” asked Magnus and cocked his head to the side and Alec just shrugged.

“Nothing in particular,” said Alec and then made a little pause. “I mean,” he said and then hummed. “Just everything that happened in the last week, I still can’t believe I had actually the guts to,” he said. “To come out in front of everyone like this,” he said and then puffed his cheeks. “If I didn’t give you my Instagram handle and talk to you as the Archer I would have never be able to do it on my own,” said Alec and Magnus pouted a little bit. Alec was giving him too much credit, he didn’t really do much. This was all Alec, he did it on his own! And he should be proud of himself for it.

“You know, I didn’t really do much,” said Magnus. “You should be proud of yourself, you had the strength to do all of this and I’m really so proud of you, Alexander,” said Magnus and Alec’s heart melted.  _ He really did like Magnus using his full name to address to him.  _ Nobody else was allowed to call him like that though and he just pressed his lips together and then shrugged.

“Yeah, it’s true, but,” said Alec. “If it wasn’t for your advices and your help… and you being so supportive of me, I wouldn’t,” he said and then glanced down. “I would still be all the way back in Narnia,” joked Alec and Magnus gave him a little chuckle. “So, I mean it - thank you so much,” said Alec softly. “For giving me the courage to be myself,” said Alec and Magnus wanted to tell him again that it was his own courage, but in the end he just decided to let it go and he just smiled. 

Magnus was just so proud of Alec - he was just so amazing and he was glad that everything has worked out for him. He was happy that he had such supportive coach and that his siblings were so supportive of him. Magnus knew that his parents were going to be okay with it as well! His heart fluttered with joy when he glanced into Alec’s eyes and he happily hummed and then leaned closer to Alec, whose eyes widened when he saw Magnus leaning closer for a kiss and Alec gulped, but didn’t pull away. Instead, he leaned in as well, their lips meeting half-way and Alec shuddered softly when Magnus gently kissed him, kissing him back and Magnus smiled. 

Alec’s eyes were tightly shut, his cheeks red and he was just so adorable. His pouty lips were begging to be kissed again, so Magnus kissed him again, slowly bringing his hand down behind Alec’s neck and he gently held him like that as Alec slowly titled his head to the side and kissed Magnus again, feeling Magnus applying a bit more pressure to their kiss and he didn’t mind it at all. He slowly reached out and grabbed onto Magnus’ shirt, trying to pull him a bit closer and Magnus slowly crawled up to his bed, kneeling and he then he leaned up, kissing Alec again, who shuddered softly as their lips met again and he breathed out as Magnus pulled back, but he then pulled him in right away.

Alec’s heart was beating fast, his body feeling hot, but he liked it and he wanted more. Magnus was kissing Alec back softly, but his kisses were slowly starting to get hungrier and he gasped softly, cracking an eye open just to see if Alec was comfortable. Heck, Alec was more than comfortable, wrapping his arms around Magnus’ waist and he then tried to get Magnus even closer. An idea popped into Magnus’ mind and as their lips continued locked in a kiss, he lifted himself up and straddled Alec’s legs, slowly breaking the kiss and then he glanced into his eyes.

“This okay?” asked Magnus, his voice breathy and low.

“Yes,” breathed out Alec and crushed their lips together again. Magnus smiled because he liked the more aggressive side of Alec - he was slowly starting to come out and he liked it. Magnus let out a low gasp when he felt Alec’s tongue against his lip and he didn’t even think about it twice, opening his mouth and he allowed Alec to explore, taste his lips, the jock gasping as well when their tongues brushed against each other and he could kind of feel Magnus trembling in his arms up there on top of him. 

Alec couldn’t believe what he has been missing out - hot makeout sessions and he slowly broke their kiss, looking up at Magnus. Magnus’ face was red, he was breathing fast and uneven and he bit his lip, gazing down.  _ He was totally uncool,  _ scolded himself Magnus and Alec chuckled when he saw that Magnus was acting almost bashful? Adorable in every way possible and he just it his lip and a little grin spread across his face. 

‘’Adorable,” commented Alec and winked. 

Magnus gulped. Instead of giving Alec a verbal reply, he just leaned in and kissed Alec again - maybe a bit too forceful because Alec lost balance and they ended up on the bed, Alec underneath, Magnus on top and Magnus bit his lip.  _ As much as Alec looked tempting like that, Alec was also taking things slow and-  _ “I-I’m sorry,” stammered Magnus, trying to get off, but Alec’s arms around him kept him in place. “I got a bit too carried away and-”

“Kiss me again,” begged Alec and Magnus grinned -  _ oh!  _ “Please.”

How could Magnus say no? He laid back down, kissing Alec softly, holding his face. While he was trying to keep it slow, Alec’s arms were travelling up and down Magnus’ back, fisting his shirt - it was so annoying. He finally managed to slip his hands under Magnus’ shirt, lifting it up and heard Magnus’ soft gasp above him. Alec’s fingers felt amazing on Magnus’ skin, Alec groaning a bit when he felt Magnus deepening their kiss again and-  _ then there was a knock on the door.  _ Fuck!

Asmodeus knocked on the door because the dinner was ready. His son’s boyfriend was staying over for dinner that day and he was very glad that he finally got to mean his boy’s boyfriend, but at the same time, he was not very amused to the fact that Magnus had locked the door of his room  _ and _ had a very loud music playing in the background;  _ why exactly was all of that necessary?!  _ The man knew how teenagers got; he was one himself and he just didn’t really bother waiting. He knocked loud and clear, making sure that the boys heard him, then folded his arms on top of his chest and waited. He was going to give them exactly 30 seconds to open up the door!

‘’Not again,’’ whined Magnus and quickly climbed off of Alec, who was laying there, unable to really to stand up because the makeout session was rather hot and he just wanted to lay there and savour it for a bit more. Magnus snorted when he saw that Alec was still enjoying the moment, but he then gave him a little nudge. ‘’It’s my dad again, I’m so sorry,’’ he whined and just like that Alec was on his legs and gulped. Damn, his throat felt really,  _ really _ dry and he just rubbed his palms together.

‘’I-I-’’

‘’Boys, open up,’’ said Asmodeus on the other side of the door and Magnus rolled his eyes. He wanted to fight it, but then he just turned off the music and sighed again. ‘’On the count to ten I want the door to open, Magnus,’’ said Asmodeus and Magnus quickly fixed his hair, straightened his clothes and then signed Alec to do the same. Alec mimicked him and then Magnus finally unlocked the door.

‘’Happy now?!’’ shrieked Magnus because he didn’t like his dad interrupting again. Asmodeus narrowed his eyes and then shook his head.

‘’I told you - the door stays  _ open _ ,’’ said Asmodeus and Magnus rolled his eyes. ‘’Roll your eyes one more time and you’re grounded,’’ said Asmodeus, but Magnus could tell that his father was only kidding. Still, he stuck his tongue out and Asmodeus then glanced in the back at Alec, who was just looking down and was trying to get his tongue untied.  _ Kind of hard thing to do though!  _ ‘’The door was unlocked, why?’’ asked Asmodeus and glanced at Magnus.

‘’Um we were definitely not making out,’’ blurted out Alec in the back and Magnus face-palmed himself and then started laughing. Asmodeus snorted as well because the Lightwood boy was quite an interesting character and he just shook his head. Magnus pressed his lips and then he huffed - he guessed that his dad made Alexander somehow uneasy, huh? He did have a scary aura around him. Alec panicked. ‘’I mean we were chatting, yes!’’

‘’Chatting, uh-huh,’’ said Asmodeus and then sighed. ‘’Anyway,’’ he said and then glanced at Magnus, who was holding back his laughter. ‘’The dinner’s all set, so come down,’’ he said softly and Alec quickly nodded, face red with embarrassment - he couldn’t believe he just said that in front of Magnus’ dad! He apologised around five times later on, but both Asmodeus and Magnus just laughed it off -  _ phew!  _

* * *

‘’Thank you, honey,’’ said Maryse and Alec smiled. It was the next day and Alec was helping his mom with chores. Just now he has finished washing up the kitchen floor and he stood up and arched his back.  _ Oh, he felt that - was he getting old?!  _ He snorted and then walked over to his mom, who was already sitting on the couch and was taking a little breath. They’ve cleaned up the entire house while Robert took the rest of the Lightwoods out to the cinema! Alec decided to stay home with his mom and help her around the house. He was a good son!

‘’Mom, I think we deserve a break,’’ said Alec and Maryse nodded. She didn’t know what happened, but ever since that day… Alec was different, in a good way. He no longer refused to go to school, he was smiling more and he seemed more like himself. He wasn’t spending so much time locked away in his room anymore and she was glad to see the change. She didn’t know what happened, but she also didn’t want to pry too much. 

‘’Indeed, we’re heroes of the day,’’ said Maryse and Alec smiled. 

‘’Also, we need a drink,’’ said Alec and Maryse arched a brow. ‘’How about some beer?’’ asked Alec and his eyes started glowing. Maryse rolled her eyes and then snorted because she knew what Alec was trying to do - it wasn’t going to work though. ‘’I’ll go grab us a few and-’’

‘’One beer for me and some water for yourself,’’ said Maryse and Alec whined.

‘’But, mom, I’m old enough to-’’

‘’Nope, by law you cannot drink so water it is,’’ said Maryse. 

‘’But mom!’’ whined Alec. ‘’Just one glass!’’

‘’Not even half of sip, young man,’’ said Maryse and started laughing when she saw her son sulking over there. Still, Alec smiled and then sighed happily. It’s been a while since she and Alec were able to spend some time like that - just laughing and joking with each other. ‘’It’s been a while, hasn’t it?’’ asked Maryse and Alec turned to her.

‘’Huh?’’

‘’Since we’ve spent some time alone together like this and since you’ve last smiled,’’ commented Maryse and Alec looked away. His heart started beating a bit faster and he bit his lip because- ‘’You don’t have to talk about it,’’ said Maryse quickly because she saw that her son was getting tense and that was the last thing that she wanted to do at a moment like this. She just wanted them to have some fun, that was all. If Alec didn’t want to have a serious talk about it, then it was okay too. ‘’You just seem happier and I’m glad to see that,’’ said Maryse and Alec slowly smiled and nodded.

‘’Yeah,’’ he said and then held in his breath. _ There was that nagging feeling again - he couldn’t stay quiet.  _ He wanted to come out and say it and since he has done it twice now he wasn’t so scared anymore. Still. Though it was perfect timing now - it was just him and his mom in the whole house and- He cleared his throat and then rubbed his palms together. The woman could tell that her son was trying to tell her something. ‘’I’m, um, I’m much happier now, yes,’’ said Alec.

‘’That’s good,’’ said Maryse happily. ‘’Gosh, it feels like it’s been forever since we’ve talked,’’ she said and Alec bowed his head down - he felt guilty because that was on him. ‘’How’s school? Anything new and exciting coming up?’’ she asked and studied the look on his son’s face. 

_ There was the prom coming up!  _ Alec felt a rush of adrenaline because that felt like it could be his chance to tell her! Somehow! But it felt right! ‘’Um,’’ he said and then nodded slowly. ‘’I mean there’s the prom coming up,’’ he said and Maryse cheered up even more because that meant that his boy had a date to the prom and she was just so excited for him!

‘’Oh, yes, the prom,’’ said Maryse. ‘’It’s very exciting,’’ she said and then took in a deep breath because she just needed to ask. ‘’So, do you have someone you’re going with?’’ asked Maryse and Alec smiled, his heart hammering even more.

‘’Yes,’’ he said.

‘’My boy has a date to the prom!’’ she said happily and Alec flushed a little bit, but then nodded. ‘’So, who is it? Anyone I know?’’ she asked, but then doubted it because she didn’t really know that many of students on Alec’s school. Though she did know the parents of them, so maybe she could somehow connect it. Alec nodded again and then puffed his cheeks. Oh, boy, he was nervous as hell!

‘’Yeah,’’ said Alec and then looked away. Ignoring his racing heart, Alec just decided to go on and do it! ‘’You’ve met him before,’’ he said and then held in his breath and didn’t quite dare to look at his mother yet. The next few seconds dragged by like hours and at first Maryse smiled, then her eyes widened when she realised -  _ him.  _ It was nerve wracking after all - coming out to your parents was the scariest thing ever and the longer his mother kept being quiet, the longer he panicked. 

Maryse connected the dots, slowly.  _ Him as in a guy, right?  _ She glanced at Alec, who was nervously tapping his foot against the floor, twisting his fingers and her heart broke.  _ This was what has been bothering her boy and she had no idea!  _ For months now Alec was hiding this from them and she could feel just how much it was pulling him down. To her it didn’t make a different, truly didn’t. She wished she knew earlier, she could have helped Alec. 

‘’Mom, please say something,’’ whispered Alec, his voice shaking. 

‘’You still haven’t told me who he is!’’ said Maryse excitedly and Alec turned to her, his eyes wide - she wasn’t going to say anything? She was smiling, her smile bright, her eyes warm and understanding. No judgement at all, pure love and acceptance! Alec bit his lip and finally decided that it was okay to feel relieved. Maryse gave him a little smile and placed her hand on top of his shoulder in a very soothing manner. ‘’Is this why you’ve been so stressed lately?’’ asked Maryse and Alec nodded, biting his trembling lip and she could feel his fear yet happiness. She got emotional and she shook her head, bringing Alec in for a hug. ‘’Alec, it’s okay,’’ said Maryse.

‘’Ye-yeah,’’ managed to say Alec and gasped softly because he didn’t even know how much he was holding himself back from showing how worried he truly was. ‘’I-I-’’

‘’You… are you being bullied at school?’’ asked Maryse and pulled back. ‘’I’ll go have a word with the principal!’’’ she said and bit his lip.

‘’Not anymore, the coach handled it. The bullies have been suspended for whole month,’’ said Alec and Maryse bit her lip - she wished that she knew. Her boy was going through all of this alone and it pained her.

‘’I wish I knew,’’ said Maryse. ‘’The coach’s a good man,’’ she said and then sniffled. ‘’Sorry, I just… I’m happy you’re in a better place now,’’ said Maryse and cupped Alec’s face. ‘’And just know that I’ll always love you, okay?’’ asked Maryse, Alec nodding. ‘’Never forget that, it’s always okay to tell me when things get tough. You don’t have to go through this alone,’’ she said and Alec nodded again. ‘’It’s okay,’’ she said. ‘’And now you get to… finally live the life you want to,’’ she said and Alec cursed.  _ Damn, she made him emotional again.  _

‘’Thank you,’’ said Alec and then wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. Maryse chuckled, sniffled as well and then pulled her son closer to her and hugged him.  _ Tight.  _ Alec smiled and bit his lip. It was definitely easier though and he was proud of himself. ‘’It’s, um, Magnus,’’ said Alec and Maryse glanced at him. ‘’My date to the prom,’’ he said and Maryse’s face brightened.  _ Oh!  _

‘’Oh  _ really _ ?’’ she asked, her voice getting higher and Alec laughed, nodding. ‘’So you are  _ dating _ then?’’ asked Maryse and Alec nodded again. Maryse was just so proud of her boy and she was also excited because Magnus was an amazing young man! Polite and extremely bright! Mature for his age. So, she approved. Very much so. ‘’That’s amazing truly,’’ said Maryse and Alec glanced down, nodding.

‘’Yeah, he is,’’ said Alec and his cheeks reddened. ‘’He’s been so good to me,’’ he said. ‘’I mean he’s been really supportive and-and I truly… I wouldn’t be here telling you this if it wasn’t for him,’’ said Alec because it was true. No matter how much Magnus didn’t want to get the credit for it, it was true. ‘’He helped me so much.’’

‘’I’m so happy for you, Alec, because you deserve everything,’’ she said. ‘’All the happiness that there is,’’ she said and Alec ducked his head down and nodded. Yeah, he was beginning to accept that as well - that it was okay for him to wish for happiness. Maryse wrapped an arm around him and pulled him into a half-hug again and then ruffled his hair. 

Alec was just so happy - he was glad his mom was so supportive. He just hoped his dad was going to be as well, but he was still… going to wait a bit longer until he’d tell Robert. 

* * *

Magnus and Alec were in the cafeteria when a very excited Izzy ran to them and both of them looked up. They were hanging out with, the rest of Alec’s team and Magnus’ friends joined at the table as well - they were just chatting as they were waiting for the next period to start. But it seemed that Izzy had very important news to share with them and she was literally bursting with excitement and Alec arched his brow. ‘’Alec, I have big, big news,’’ said Izzy and sat down, Alec nodding and he then narrowed his eyes because Izzy was barely containing herself.

‘’Okay, first let’s calm down Iz. Let’s take it down to zero,’’ said Alec and took in a deep breath. Izzy waved it off and then rolled her eyes, Magnus chuckling there next to the two of them. ‘’So, what’s this so important and big news?’’ asked Alec and Izzy clasped her hands together and then looked at Alec. 

‘’You have been nominated for the prom king,’’ said Izzy and Jace glanced over to his brother and then smiled - he was also running for the king of the prom position and given that Alec was also joining it - it was going to be so much fun. But Alec groaned as he didn’t want that - he didn’t like all of the attention that came with that. And why did people nominate him anyway? He wasn’t really kind to others, he was grumpy and he didn’t like… well, he was the leader of the team and-  _ it was still stupid!  _

‘’No,’’ whined Alec and Izzy’s eyes widened. ‘’I don’t want to,’’ he said and glanced at Magnus. ‘’It’s so much work,’’ he said and Magnus gave him a little chuckle and then took his hand into his and just gave it a little squeeze.

‘’Oh, you’ve got this in the bag,’’ said Magnus. ‘’All you have to do is sit there and look pretty, Alexander, I think you’ve practically won the whole thing all together,’’ said Magnus, his eyes shining and Ragnor and Raphael snorted next to him. He glared at them and Catarina was also laughing because the way Magnus spoke of Alec was adorable, but really over the top at times.

‘’Yeah, because you’re totally not biased, right?’’ asked Raphael.

‘’Did I ask for your opinion?’’ asked Magnus and narrowed his eyes.

‘’No, but I thought I’d give one anyway,’’ said Raphael and then just shrugged. Magnus grumbled and then decided to ignore the way Ragnor was laughing. He did not like it. 

‘’Anyway,’’ said Magnus. ‘’That’s very exciting, Alexander,’’ said Magnus and Alec flushed again because he did like how Magnus complimented him very much. But he didn’t really- ‘’I mean,’’ he said. ‘’I can help you run your campaign,’’ offered Magnus and Alec snorted.

‘’I won’t be running anything,’’ said Alec and Magnus grinned. ‘’I’ve half of my senior year worrying, I’m not going to stress about stuff like that,’’ said Alec. ‘’Besides,’’ he said and then glanced at Magnus and sighed happily. ‘’I much rather spend time with you doing other things,’’ he said and Izzy giggled because she didn’t even get to the good part.

‘’You’re nominated as well, Magnus,’’ said Izzy and Magnus’ jaw dropped to the floor.

‘’I’m what?’’ asked Magnus and Izzy nodded. 

‘’Yep, Lydia told me,’’ said Izzy.

Magnus, on the other hand, enjoyed the spotlight and he glanced at Alec. ‘’Alexander,’’ he said and Alec pressed his lips together. ‘’I have a suggestion,’’ said Magnus and Alec flinched. ‘’How about we run a campaign together,’’ he said. ‘’It’ll be fun and it doesn’t really matter who wins. I mean,’’ he said. ‘’It’s all winners,’’ he said and the way he was looking up at Alec, happily and cutely. Alec looked at Izzy, who grinned and Alec looked back at Magnus. 

‘’I’ll think about it,’’ said Alec in the end and Magnus happily placed a kiss on top of Alec’s cheek and the jock just happily grinned. 

‘’I should be on that list too,’’ mumbled Ragnor, Magnus looking over at him and he laughed. ‘’I mean I could… ugh.’’

‘’You just don’t have what it takes, my dear friend,’’ said Magnus and Ragnor rolled his eyes. ‘’I have the star quality,’’ he said and Ragnor gritted his teeth, but then again all it was was some friendly bickering. Still, he really wanted to be in spotlight too. Maybe he was just a little bit jealous, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t happy for his friend.

‘’Congrats though.’’

‘’Thank you,’’ said Magnus happily and Alec bit his lip because the two of them started bickering quite soon again as Ragnor asked if he could run their campaign for him and their ideas  _ of course  _ clashed. Alec was just smiling because this was… a lot different, but in good way. For the first time in a long time he felt completely carefree and being back in school was actually fun and he bit his lip.  _ He got more new friends.  _ That was always nice and he liked Magnus’ friends a lot. They were nice. He specially liked Raphael - he could relate with him on a spiritual level.

Alec took in a deep breath and then proudly wrapped an arm around his boyfriend and without anything holding him back proudly kissed him in front of everyone. Magnus smiled and then leaned up against him.  _ Yep, this was much better!  _


	14. Chapter 14

Alec decided that it was finally the time to tell Robert the truth as well. He told Max the day after he told his mother and the boy didn’t really care about who his brother dates, he was just glad that he wasn’t bullied anymore. Also he liked Magnus, so he was happy for him, but didn’t really make a big deal out of it and Alec was quite happy about it. Now a week and a bit later, Alec decided that it was finally the time to break the news to his father. The two of them were working out in the gym - Alec decided to go working out with Robert with that sole purpose so that he could tell him. It was just the two of them, Alec asked Jace not to come with them because he wanted to be alone with Robert when he did it and Jace was very understanding about it, but made him sure to promise that he’d call him if it would go wrong, though he was pretty sure that Robert was going to be accepting. After all, he loved the kids so he was probably going to be supportive about it.

Alec truly hoped that his brother was right about it because coming out Robert was a little bit different. Maybe because he was a man, Alec didn’t know, but he was just afraid and he much rather did it in a public setting so that even if the man was going to get upset, he wasn’t going to make a big scene about it. It was just in case and Alec was just running on the treadmill, Robert running on the one next to him and he then took in a deep breath. Robert sent him a smile and he then gave him thumbs up - he was happy that he got to spend a bit one on one time with his son. Usually it was him and Jace that went out to work out like that, especially lately - it’s been a while since Alec joined in. Alec was busy with other things lately, so he was more than surprised in a good way of course when Alec offered coming with him down to the gym that day.

“Doing good over there, son?” teased Robert a little bit and Alec grinned a little bit. Robert liked doing this - playfully tease him and Jace when they were working out together. In the past, when Jace and Alec were still younger, the man was able to be much faster than them as he was a grown up and they were kids. It was driving Alec mad because he wasn’t able to beat his dad - he was a very competitive when it came down to it, but things have completely changed lately. His old man was getting, well, old and Alec just grinned and then took in a deep breath and just shrugged.

“Piece of cake,” said Alec and switched the setting on the treadmill and started running faster. Robert huffed under his breath and glanced down and then pressed his lips together -oh, he was getting tired and Alec was just starting to warm up. Years were really starting to show and he just bit his lip, but didn’t make a comment about it. Alec could tell that his dad was straining to keep up as he also switched the setting on his own treadmill and he was already sweating like crazy. “Looking kind of flush over there,” teased Alec, who was enjoying this.

“Nope, just warming up,” said Robert and Alec started laughing - he has definitely gotten this kind of competitive side from Robert - but he didn’t mind it and he just grinned and then he set the setting to an even faster one and Robert’s jaw dropped and he glanced down. “Okay, let’s not overdo it, son, you’ll have sore muscles tomorrow and you won’t be able to do great at your training,” said Robert, but was kind of hoping that Alec would turn it down a notch for the sake of him.

“Oh, I’ll be fine,” said Alec and then started laughing because he could tell that Robert was going to step down any moment then. “Having troubles in keeping up with me, huh, old man?” joked Alec and Robert glared at him, but he couldn’t lie and in the end he needed to take a break, stepping down, breathing fast and he just made his way down to the bench and he sat down, grabbing his bag and he pulled out his water bottle - he was exhausted!  _ Alec was in top shape!  _ Robert wiped the sweat that has gathered above his forehead and he then huffed under his breath, folding his arms on top of his chest and he just pressed his lips together.

“Damn,” said Robert, admitting defeat. Alec hopped off of the treadmill and joined his father on the bench, who was trying to catch his breath and Alec grinned happily. “Okay, I’ll admit it, you beat me to it this time,” he said and Alec waggled his eyebrows. “You’re getting good at it,” he said and Alec just started laughing again and Robert arched his brow and then glanced at the side.

“You’re getting old,” teased Alec and Robert didn’t appreciate being teased like this. He then took in a deep breath and then grinned -  _ Alec might have beaten him on the treadmill, but there was one place that he was still better than Alec!  _ Afterwards they were going to the target shooting range, to see who was better in  _ archery.  _ That was where he was going to show to his son that he still got it and he cracked his knuckles.

“I’m gonna kick your ass at archery later,” said Robert and Alec’s eyes widened a little bit, but he quickly accepted the challenge. It’s been a while since he has last done archery and he was a little bit rusty with it, but he was going to get back in shape quite soon and he rubbed his palms together.  _ Oh, it was on!  _ He was going to bring his dad down again! And he couldn’t wait. Robert laughed as well when he saw that Alec was already warming up for the archery battle and he just sighed happily. Yep, that was like the good, old times. “This feels like good old times, huh?” asked Robert and Alec nodded. 

“Yes,” said Alec and his face beamed. He has missed hanging out with his dad and he was glad that it was just the two of them. “I missed hanging out with you,” said Alec and Robert nodded, Alec feeling a little bit nervous because he was going to soon bring it up, so that he could explain it to his father properly, why was he avoiding him so much.  _ He was avoiding everyone pretty much everyone by being locked away in his room!  _

“Yeah,” said Robert. “I mean Jace and I never really stopped training together,” said Robert and then rubbed the back of his neck. “He also kicked my ass the last few times, it’s getting quite embarrassing, my poor ego,” said Robert and Alec was just laughing because Jace has told him all about it. “I guess you thought you were too cool for hanging out with your old man?” joked Robert, but Alec could sense that there was a glint of seriousness behind his voice - he was trying to figure out what was up with his son for the last few months. Now he was more like his old self, but before-

“Ah, no,” said Alec and Robert just wrapped an arm around his son’s shoulders and then brought his closer, ruffling his hair and Alec rolled his eyes because that was what his dad liked doing ever since he was a kid and he just laughed along. 

“Relax, just kidding,” said Robert. He and Alec never really discussed  _ deep _ things. Robert wasn’t a man that really did those touchy-feely talks, but he could if that was something that Alec wanted. Still, he didn’t want to make him to uncomfortable because he knew that his son was like himself. When things got tough he would shut people down and even though Robert knew that it wasn’t a healthy approach to problems, he couldn’t really do much. But try to let Alec know that he was there if he wanted to talk about it. 

“Actually,” said Alec and Robert glanced at him, slowly pulling his arms away and Alec clasped his hands together and then decided to tell him. It felt like the right time, looking around them and the room was quite full and he liked that. Music was playing in the background and nobody was really paying attention to them. Still, it felt a little bit more comfortable for Alec to be in the company of other people It was still nerve-wracking. “I came here with you today because I, uh, I wanted to tell you something,” said Alec and Robert waited a little bit and then nodded.

“Okay?” asked Robert. “And here I thought that you just wanted to hang out with me,” said Robert, joking and he tried to make the atmosphere a little bit lighter because he could tell that Alec was nervous. 

“I… of course I wanted,” said Alec and Robert smiled. “But there’s another thing I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while now,” said Alec and Robert nodded. “I mean, it’s,” he said and then made a pause and then looked over at his dad, who was just waiting patiently.  _ Oh how much he hoped that Robert was going to be also supportive about it!  _ “I just want you to know that, um, that it’s still me, I just,” was rambling Alec, kind of stalling because he wanted his dad to know that the fact that he was into guys didn’t really change who he was - it was always him, it was just going to be out on the open.

Alec truly didn’t know what kind of a reaction he was going to get from his dad. They've never talked about this issue and he didn’t know where Robert stood. “Okay,” said Robert. “You can tell me stuff,” said Robert and Alec smiled faintly, but it was soon gone again and Robert was finally able to see that it was a serious issue that Alec wanted to discuss and he perked up and then placed his hands together.  _ What was it?  _ “You didn’t get anyone pregnant, did you?” almost shrieked Robert and Alec wanted to laugh at how ridiculous that sounded. 

“I’m happy to inform you that you don’t have to worry about  _ that _ ,” said Alec and dryly laughed. Robert seemed to be relieved and Alec snorted, but then bit his lip and then waited for a little bit and finally took in a deep breath and with it enough courage. “I mean,” he said and then just decided to come out and say it. “The thing I wanted to tell you,” he said and Robert nodded. “I’m gay, dad,” said Alec, his voice getting low and kind of small, his heart leaping to his throat.  _ Coming out over and over again was tiring and he was glad that the process was going to be over, at least for a little while.  _ He didn’t dare to look at his dad, who was now sitting there and then he glanced at his son. At first he thought that Alec was kidding, but the serious look on his face told him that he shouldn’t make a joke about it -  _ Alec was serious!  _

“Oh,” said Robert and Alec glanced up at him.  _ Oh?  _ That… what was that supposed to mean? Acceptance or? Alec bit his lip and Robert, shifted a little bit on the bench and then held in his breath, biting on his lip and he clasped his hands together, linking his fingers together and then he was slowly processing it. “I’ll admit it, son, that wasn’t the news I was expecting,” said Robert and Alec was starting to panic, because his father didn’t seem too happy about it? Or? Alec couldn’t really rid his father’s emotions well and he was starting to get really worried, because-

“I know, I’m sorry,” said Alec, quickly apologising. “But-but I just wanted to tell you that- I thought it was fair to let you know, I’ve come out to others,” said Alec and then tried to keep it together, but the fact that his father didn’t show any kind of emotion made him worried. He knew that it was going to be different with Robert.  _ He was his firstborn son, he was-  _ “I-I just want you to know that it’s still… nothing changed, I’m just,” he said and Robert nodded, but was still deep in thought.

_ How couldn’t he notice something before?  _ But in fact - he did. He made a lot of jokes of Alec dating other  _ girls _ and the fact that his son was never too impressed with his jokes and found them funny - like Jace - should be a sign. But he ignored it and made Alec  _ uncomfortable _ with them. For  _ years.  _ Robert took in a deep breath - he felt bad about it, he should’ve really been more considerate, but instead-

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, dad,” said Alec. “But-”

“You could  _ never _ disappoint me,” said Robert quickly and Alec finally wave of relief flushing over his body.  _ Oh thank goodness!  _ Alec gulped and then finally a smile spread across his face. ‘’I’m more,’’ he said and made a pause. ‘’I’m more concerned about how uncomfortable I must’ve make you feel about all of those comments about you being popular with the ladies,’’ said Robert and Alec quickly shook his head.  _ It was kind of uncomfortable, but at the same time his father didn’t know so he shouldn’t be blaming himself.  _ ‘’I shouldn’t have just assumed that you were-’’ he said and then bit his lip. ‘’I’m sorry,’’ said Robert and Alec just waved it off. It was all in the past, he was okay now. He has come a long way since then and he just gave his father a little chuckle.

‘’Dad, it’s okay, it’s all in the past,’’ said Alec and Robert eventually nodded. Still, he felt about it, but- ‘’I’m just happy that it’s finally all out in the open,’’ said Alec and then huffed. ‘’I’ve been meaning to tell you for such a long time,’’ said Alec and then just smiled. ‘’Thank you,’’ said Alec and his eyes widened when he felt his father hugging him. He and his father were close since he was a child, but Robert wasn’t much of a hugger. Alec didn’t get many hugs from his father and his eyes widened when his father suddenly hugged him, pressing his lips together and he returned the hug.

‘’No,’’ said Robert and then shook his head. ‘’Thank you, for telling me,’’ said Robert and Alec just smiled, nodding and he hugged his father back.  _ Finally, the truth was out and he felt amazing.  _ Alec felt like he was on top of the world; nothing could hold him back anymore and he was just completely ecstatic. He couldn’t wait to tell his boyfriend - again - Magnus was going to be so proud of him. Alec was proud of himself and he learned that it was okay to be feeling like this. Being proud of yourself was amazing and he just chuckled when Robert pulled back and then took in a deep breath.

A cheeky smile spread across Alec’s face. ‘’So, your offer still stands?’’ asked Alec and Robert arched a brow. ‘’Still up for a archery battle with me?’’ asked Alec and Robert smiled all the way up to his ears and he just nodded. ‘’Oh, I’m gonna kick your ass again,’’ announced Alec and Robert just scoffed and then stood up.

‘’You wish,’’ said the older Lightwood and Alec started laughing.  _ Oh, that was going to be amazing and he couldn’t wait to finally kick his dad’s ass in archery.  _ The truth was that Robert was actually very good in archery, but it was soon going to be Alec’s day - the student was going to beat the master and Alec just smiled.  _ He was happy that his father accepted him so well  _ and he just spread his arms out. 

Yep, he felt amazing!

* * *

‘’Given that the theme for the prom is Medieval times,’’ said Magnus happily and turned to Alec, who just nodded. Ugh, he didn’t think that there would be so much work with the prom stuff, but at least Magnus was there, making the process of getting ready for it easier.  _ He was glad that he was going with Magnus, but at the same time it was a lot of work.  _ In the end, it was all going to be worth it, he knew it. And, yes, he was very excited! He couldn’t wait to show off in front of the entire school that Magnus was  _ his.  _ Then again, everyone already knew that, but still! ‘’I think that we should be going as king and a knight,’’ said Magnus happily and Alec perked up. Oh, he liked that idea!

‘’Oh!’’ said Alec and perked up. He didn’t really care much about dressing up, but seeing Magnus dressed up as a king - like he was - made him excited. The two of them were in Magnus’ room and were planning their outfits, but Alec wanted to surprise Magnus with his! So maybe they should make it a secret for each other? ‘’That’s a good idea, yes,’’ said Alec and Magnus smiled, nodding. ‘’I can’t wait to see you as a king,’’ said Alec, already drooling. Magnus all dressed up, with a crown, tight pants and-

‘’Oh, I was thinking that you’d go as a king,’’ said Magnus and Alec arched a brow. ‘’I mean seeing  _ you _ as a king,’’ said Magnus and then fanned himself in a very dramatic manner. It made Alec roll his eyes, but at the same time, he was blushing. ‘’You’ll be serving looks,’’ he said and then he glanced up and down. ‘’Then again, it doesn’t matter how you dress, everyone will be drooling over you, Alexander,’’ he said and Alec laughed because Magnus was being too biased again.  _ He didn’t mind it though.  _ ‘’I already have it all planned out, you are a king and-’’

‘’I wanna be the knight,’’ said Alec and Magnus arched his brow. No, Alec deserved to be the king, but Alec had a plan! ‘’I mean,’’ said Alec shyly and then looked down. ‘’If you wouldn’t mind, I, um, kind of had this idea,’’ he stammered and then bit his lip. Maybe it was a stupid idea anyway? Still, he wanted to tell his opinion that Magnus was very interested in hearing out. ‘’Maybe it’s stupid,’’ he mumbled and Magnus quickly held out his hand, taking Alec’s hand into his own and he shook his head.

‘’No idea is stupid,’’ said Magnus softly. ‘’Tell me, Alexander, what did you have in mind?’’ asked Magnus and Alec smiled softly. As always, Magnus was so supportive of him. He loved it! ‘’It’s not fair that I only get to speak about it, so go ahead, tell me your ideas,’’ he said and Alec nodded slowly and then held onto Magnus’ hand, because he loved holding hands with him. It made his heart flutter.

‘’I mean,’’ said Alec. ‘’I would make more sense if you go as a king,’’ said Alec because he was always of the opinion that Magnus was a true  _ king.  _ He should live up to that name, but at the same time, there was more than that. ‘’And I as a knight, hear me out,’’ said Alec and Magnus nodded. ‘’As I’m an archer,’’ he said and Magnus immediately understood where Alec was headed with that. ‘’I think that maybe it would make more sense?’’ he asked and then sighed happily as he looked into Magnus’ eyes. ‘’I’d bring my bow and all,’’ he said and Magnus’ eyes lit up. 

_ Alexander with a bow, he liked that idea very much! _

‘’Oh, that’s hot,’’ said Magnus and then bit his lip, quickly glancing down and he just smiled, Alec’s cheeks red, but he was glad that Magnus liked his idea. ‘’You as my knight,’’ said Magnus because he was already drooling over the sight of Alec. ‘’This would mean that I would have to rearrange my whole plans, but there’s still time so let’s not worry,’’ said Magnus and Alec wanted to tell his other, other plan. Yes, he had many plans.

‘’Maybe we should keep our outfits as a surprise?’’ asked Alec and Magnus hummed - he wanted them to match though. ‘’I want to surprise you, I mean I have this idea, but it’s,’’ he said and his cheeks reddened a bit more. ‘’It’s a bit out there, but  _ still _ ,’’ said Alec and then held in his breath. ‘’I want to-’’ he sand and his voice trailed off.  _ I want to see you drool, Magnus,  _ was what he wanted to say, but he didn’t and Magnus was intrigued.

‘’Surprise, what kind?’’ asked Magnus and pouted because Alec shook his head.

‘’It wouldn’t be really a surprise if I just told you, right?’’ asked Alec and Magnus whined.  _ Alec was good at teasing, that was what he learned pretty quickly, but he loved it.  _ Magnus loved this cheeky side of Alec and in the end, he just nodded and pinched Alec’s cheek. 

‘’Okay,’’ said Magnus. ‘’Let it be a surprise then,’’ he said and he was already planning his own outfit as a king to the prom and he had so many ideas. Oh, he was going to make Alec- ‘’Oh, I can’t wait,’’ he said and then he waggled his eyebrows. ‘’You won’t even know what’s coming to you, my dear knight,’’ purred Magnus and Alec perked up. Ah, he wanted to know! The sheer imagination of seeing Magnus as a king made his mind running wild with the possibilities.

‘’I can’t wait,’’ said Alec and Magnus winked because he was going to make it all worth it.  _ As was Alec, he was going to ask Izzy for tips on how to make himself drool-worthy for Magnus for the prom!  _ He needed to make a top impression! He needed Magnus to remember the outfit forever. ‘’My king,’’ said Alec and Magnus started laughing because that was kind of cheesy, but also hot at the same time and Alec just winked cutely. 

‘’Ah, trying to seduce your king?’’ asked Magnus and Alec proudly nodded.

‘’Yes,’’ he announced and then wrapped his arms around Magnus, bringing him down onto the bed with him, their lips connecting in the softest kisses ever.

* * *

‘’Are you sure your teacher won’t mind?’’ asked Alec and Magnus shook his head, laughing. They were walking down the hallways, Magnus invited Alec to come to one of their rehearsals. Their big play was soon coming up and Alec expressed his wish to come and see Magnus in action, but at the same time, he didn’t want to be a bother. The drama professor kind of scared him, so he didn’t want to mess with him, but Magnus knew for a fact that the old man was going to be overjoyed - the more eyes in his drama club, the better! If there was anyone that loved attention, it was him!

‘’I’m pretty sure, Alexander,’’ said Magnus, calming his boyfriend down and Alec then nodded.  _ Okay.  _ ‘’He loves attention, so he’ll love more people in the audience,’’ he said. There were some students that just came there to see how the rehearsal went. Alec huffed and then nodded, but he was also very excited. Seeing Magnus in action was going to be amazing.  _ And there was also going to be Izzy.  _ And, ah, Lewis. Alec liked him, but sometimes he was looking at him too much like a fanboy. 

After they stepped inside of the drama club, Magnus introduced Alec to everyone and just like Magnus had told him, the professor was  _ delighted  _ to see him in there. After all, the drama club didn’t get many visitors and for one of them being a jock! He was delighted to see the lines among the student clicks blurring. He never liked them in the first place and that gave him more hope for the younger generations!

‘’Um, where should I put myself?’’ asked Alec because he didn’t really know what to do with himself.

‘’Oh, just come here with me,’’ said Magnus and guided him over to the sitting area. Izzy was happy to see her brother joining them in for the rehearsal and Simon was surprised as well! Much to his luck, Alec sat down very close to him and he was bursting with both excitement and curiosity -  _ was Alec joining their drama club?  _

‘’Izzy, is your brother joining our club?’’ asked Simon and Izzy chuckled.

‘’I’m afraid not,’’ said Izzy and Simon looked disappointed somehow. ‘’But trust me, it’s for the best. Alec’s dancing is something that our drama department isn’t ready yet for,’’ said Izzy and Simon chuckled as did Alec. Alec then turned to her and just stuck his tongue out. 

‘’As the word isn’t ready for your cooking, sis,’’ teased Alec back and Magnus grinned. They truly were such siblings, it warmed his heart up when he heard them bicker in such an adorable way. Izzy nudged Alec playfully and Alec just grinned. ‘’Just kidding, you’ll get there… eventually,’’ said Alec and then glanced at Simon. Isabelle started laughing as well and then she just glanced at Simon, giving him a little kiss.

The rehearsal soon started and Alec just watched all of them in awe, but he was especially impressed with Magnus - he knew that he could dance, but he didn’t know that he could act this well as well and he was just biting on his lip because he had a serious potential to become big one day. Truth be told, Magnus belonged on stage and Alec couldn't tear his eyes away from his boyfriend. The entire drama club was filled with talented people, but Magnus was the one that stood out the most - and he wasn’t just being too biased. He was, but at the same time one couldn’t deny the talent that Magnus had.  _ Truly remarkable.  _

After ending the scene, Magnus went over to Alec and he grinned because he could see that his boyfriend was amazed. ‘’So, how was it?’’ asked Magnus interested in Alec’s opinion and the jock couldn’t even muster the right words to tell Magnus just how amazing he was.

‘’Amazing,’’ said Alec finally in the end and Magnus started giggling softly because Alexander was adorable. He didn’t even try to hide his excitement, leaning over to his boyfriend and he planted a soft kiss on top of his lips.  _ It was amazing now that they didn’t have to hide their relationship anymore.  _ It wasn’t like Magnus hated it before, but he had to be careful and for someone as affectionate as he was, there were times that it was very hard not to reach over and just  _ kiss.  _

‘’I’m glad you liked the performance,’’ said Magnus. ‘’You will come to see the real thing, right?’’ asked Magnus and Alec quickly nodded.

‘’Of course, I’ll be sitting there in the first row,’’ said Alec and Magnus smiled. ‘’Cheering you on the loudest,’’ said Alec and Magnus happily sighed.  _ He would love that very much!  _ ‘’By the way, wanna come over later?’’ asked Alec and Magnus glanced at him. ‘’After I finally told my dad about us, he’s insisting on having you over for dinner,’’ said Alec and he cleared his throat. ‘’Is that okay?’’

‘’Oh, I’d love to,’’ said Magnus and Alec just smiled.  _ Yay.  _


	15. Chapter 15

Time was really flying by quickly more and more lately. Alec was busy with exams, the school year was slowly coming to an end. There were still almost two months of classes until the very end, but one could quite easily feel that the spring was in the air and Alec was in a very good mood. Even though Raj and his gang came back to school after being suspended, they stayed away from Alec. Alec could tell that they weren’t too happy for him, but it seemed that it worked. They left him alone as they couldn’t really allow themselves to be suspended just a month before graduation. And that was good - Alec and Magnus were free to be as open as they could and it was honestly the best feeling ever, Alec was living his best life. 

Final exams were on the way and Alec could already feel the pressure, but he was doing good for the most parts. He was a good student, school never really caused him too much trouble, but if there was something that he didn’t quite get, Magnus was there to help him out and he was very glad that he had Magnus to help him out. Though studying together wasn’t a very wise idea after all because surprisingly (not really) not much studying got done when it was just the two of them locked in a room. How could Alec help himself when he had such a hot tutor to help him out? Yep, it was really too distracting when all you wanted to do was to kiss your instructor every five minutes, so in the end, they decided that it was for the best if the studying happened separately. 

Still, they tried to spend as much time together as it was possible. And they did - they went out for dates, just the two of them. Sometimes even Simon and Isabelle decided to join them so that it was a double date - it was really quite nice, Alec didn’t mind Simon’s presence too much. And then there were the  _ family _ dinners. Now, that was a little bit complicated because both of their parents  _ liked _ embarrassing both of them even though they didn’t really mean anything by it. It was coming all from a place of love, but still - sometimes they liked over-sharing things and yes… it was a lot! Still, it was good to see everyone getting along so well.

In his overprotective-father-fashion, Robert was giving Magnus the same treatment as he was giving it to Simon -  _ being very protective, watching his every move, making sure that he was treating Alec right!  _ Unlike Simon, who was able to crack pretty much immediately after Robert looked at him, Magnus took it well - it was a challenge and he was softening Robert up. But all in all, Robert loved Magnus because what was there not to like? He made his son happy and he treated him right, so that was all that mattered. As long as Alec was happy then that was all there it was to it. 

Both Alec and Magnus were going to continue their studies right there in New York - both of them applied to a college there in the city; that was the plan even before they’ve gotten together, so they didn’t have to worry about the whole long-distance relationship thing. Not that it wouldn’t work out, because they were pretty sure that they would be able to work it all out, but still - it was nice knowing that they could be still close to each other and maybe - somewhere in the near future - they could even move in together. But that was still thought for the future, the main concerns that Alec had, for now, was the prom because that was a lot of work. Yes, it was fun, but it was also a lot of work and it was really stressful.

At the moment he was with Izzy and they were trying to work out an outfit. The prom was still more than a month away, but Alec was already getting ready because he wanted his outfit to be perfect and Izzy was just laughing because it was really unlikely for her brother to be such a perfectionist when it came to dressing up. And to think that he was so enthusiastic about it! Alec and Izzy were currently in the mall and Alec was trying on a pair of tight black jeans and was spinning around, trying to see if they fit him right, placing his hands on top of his sides and then he huffed. He didn’t know if it was working for him and then he looked over at his sister, who was laughing.

“Iz, how do I look?” asked Alec and Izzy slowly glanced up and down. He looked fine, the pants did wonders for his body, but wasn’t he supposed to be a knight? So maybe he should aim for something a bit more…  _ medieval looking?  _ Then again she didn’t really know what was the look that Alec was going for and she just hummed, rubbing the back of her head and she then pursed her lips. “What? I look lame, right? Ugh, I knew it, this isn’t working out,” he whined and then walked back inside of the changing room and he hid his face into his palms and groaned.

“No, no, the pants fit okay,” said Izzy and then peeked inside of the changing room. Alec rolled his eyes and then he just shook his head. “You need to tell me what was the look you were going for, though,” said Izzy and Alec nodded. “I don’t really get the whole medieval look going on from your pants?” she asked and Alec just shrugged and sat down onto the small stool that was inside of the changing room. “You’ll be a knight, an archer, you said?” asked Izzy and Alec nodded. “Okay, then what’s the entire look you’re going for? I mean-”

“Sexy,” said Alec and his eyes lit up. “I wanna be sexy archer, I want Magnus to melt when he sees me,” said Alec and Izzy had to bite down on her lip so that she didn’t start laughing too hard and then she nodded.  _ Where did the nervous archer suddenly go off to?  _ Alec’s change was incredible and she was glad to see him like that. He didn’t care anymore what people thought of him and Izzy then hummed. “Don’t laugh, I’m being serious here and you should help me,” said Alec and Izzy quickly stopped laughing.

“Yes, of course,” said Izzy and then shook her head. “Though I don’t think you’re a nervous archer anymore, Alec,” said Izzy and gave Alec a little wink. Alec’s cheeks reddened and he quickly looked down - was he being too much? But he really just wanted to make Magnus- “You wait here, I’ll go and see if they have something that is going to fit your whole  _ sexy _ archer transformation,” teased Izzy and Alec stuck his tongue out when his sister was laughing at him again, but then he quickly nodded. 

Izzy ran over to the side and he then rubbed his palms together. Oh, it was fun, maybe he should send Magnus a little sneak peek of what his outfit was going to look even though he didn’t have even a piece of clothing yet. Still, he glanced over to the mirror and he stroke a pose. Those jeans looked good on him and he was getting them anyway, a little grin spreading over his face and he quickly sent the photo to Magnus - he knew for a fact that Magnus was going to appreciate the fruits of his labour!

* * *

“Magnus, that’s creepy, you’re drooling,” whined Raphael. Ragnor and Catarina laughed next to him and they just shook their heads. It was true, Magnus was staring at his phone screen for the past few minutes and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Alexander - he looked amazing in those pants. It was like those pants were  _ made especially for him.  _ He gulped and didn’t even bother responding to Raphael’s comment - he couldn’t be bothered. At all. Alec was too hot to handle and he just took in a deep breath and then bit his lip. Fuck. Alexander looked so good that it was illegal. Yep, illegal. And the fact that he was teasing him like that was just cruel.

“I think that Alec broke him,” commented Ragnor and Catarina chuckled.

“Let him be, boys,” said Catarina and then snorted, but she had to agree with them - Magnus was being ridiculous, but in a good way. Then again if she had such a hot boyfriend she would be drooling as well. Biting her lip, she gently nudged Magnus, who flinched and then looked around.  _ What happened?!  _ “You done there?” asked Cat and Magnus shook his head - nope.

“Do you mind? I’m having a moment here,” said Magnus and his eyes travelled back to the text that he got from Alec and he then shuddered. Oh, man. It truly wasn’t fair. Those pants only made Alec’s legs appear longer and slender and he already had a thing for his long legs. Still drooling, Magnus finally decided that he needed to respond and he then cracked his fingers. He needed a sane reply, a text that was going to make Alec think that he was cool and collected, but the thing that he wrote was… anything but that.

**Magnus:** Asdfghjkl!! I. Darling. Why are you doing this to me?

Alec soon replied back and he quickly opened up his text.

**Alec:** So, you like what you see, huh? Yes, yes. Iz and I are doing a little bit of shopping - preparations for my knight outfit. It’s going to be amazing, you’re not going to be ready at all. I think the pants fit me, I think I should get them?

**Magnus:** ALEXANDER, IF YOU DON’T GET THEM I’LL GO BUY THEM FOR YOU! 

Alec sent him a row of laughing emoticons and Magnus bit his lip. He knew that he was being really over the top, but at the same time, that pants were going to be the death of him and he swallowed thickly. If this was only a sneak peek, he couldn't even imagine how the whole thing was going to look like - his imagination was running wild and there were so many possibilities. 

**Magnus:** If this is only a sneak peek, I can’t even imagine how good you’ll look when you put the whole look together!

**Alec:** Exactly ;)

Magnus moaned, he was impatient and he then rubbed his palms together, replying back to him and he was smiling, his smile went all the way up to his ears and he bit his lip because he didn’t really want to be smile too much because his friends were right there. Still, he was too lost in his own little world to actually care!

**Magnus:** Who are you and what have you done with my nervous archer!

**Alec:** Oh, no nervous archer here anymore, Magnus. I’m a sexy archer!

Magnus snorted - sexy yes, but also naughty!

**Magnus:** Scratch that - you’re naughty archer now, Alexander. Well, sexy too, but the way you know how to rile me up - naughty for sure! Not that I mind, I don’t mind at all. I love it! So, do you have any other things that you’re gonna be getting? I can always use more pictures!

“He’s smirking again,” whined Raphael. “Cat, do something, people are staring,” he said and Catarina started laughing because it was true. Not only that Magnus was smirking, but he was also laughing - that deep, devious kind of laughter. It was as if he was plotting something and she just shook her head again.

“Raphi, let him be,” said Cat.

“Yeah,” said Ragnor. “Or are you just jealous?” asked Ragnor, hitting the nail on the head and Raphael’s face reddened with embarrassment.

“Of course not!” he said and then chugged down his smoothie.  _ But maybe there was some truth in it - he, too, wanted to have what they had.  _ It was sweet, kind of!

* * *

‘’Just so you know, dude, you totally have my vote,’’ said Underhill, and Alec arched his brow. The two of them were walking down the hall, going over to the cafeteria where Magnus and the others were already waiting for them and Alec quickly shook his head. ‘’No?’’ asked Underhill, who was just trying to be a supportive friend. He thought that Alec was going to like the news of him voting him for the king prom, but Alec just shook his head and he then took in a deep breath. Alec didn’t consider himself worthy of that title - he didn’t like that he and Magnus were both running for the same title! 

‘’I’m not king worthy, man,’’ said Alec. ‘’You should vote for Magnus, he’s the king,’’ said Alec and Underhill laughed, biting his lip and he then just shook his head. ‘’Hmm?’’ asked Alec and then gazed up and down his friend, narrowing his eyes and then he gave him a look of judgemental. ‘’You don’t agree?’’ he asked and then pressed his lips together. ‘’You don’t think that Magnus is king material?!’’ shrieked Alec.

‘’No, I didn’t-’’

‘’Betrayal!’’ announced Alec on top of his lungs when the two of them were already next to the others and he was laughing because of course he was just joking. Underhill narrowed his eyes and then pursed his lips. Alec quickly walked over to Magnus because he needed to tell him what has just happened! ‘’Magnus, my friend is a traitor,’’ said Alec and then sat down next to Magnus, who arched his brow and then glanced at the curly blonde. Underhill shook his head and Magnus was very confused, but he gave Alec a welcome kiss and then waited for an explanation. ‘’Underhill wants to vote for me for the prom king,’’ said Alec and Magnus laughed.

‘’And?’’ asked Magnus - that was a good thing, wasn’t it? ‘’How he is a traitor if he wants to vote for you, you’re his friend, no?’’ he asked and Underhill quickly nodded, but Alec was already talking again and he couldn’t even properly explain himself because Alec’s mouth was unstoppable and he was just laughing because it was getting more and more hilarious. ‘’Alexander, you’re not making any sense,’’ said Magnus.

‘’Let me try to guess,’’ said Jace, chiming in. ‘’He’s upset because he won’t vote for you, Magnus, but for him,’’ he said. ‘’And our Alec here,’’ said Jace and wrapped an arm around Alec’s shoulder. Alec gritted his teeth -  _ how did Jace know that?!  _ Oh, right, he had that kind of a talk with Jace before too and he just bit his lip, his cheeks getting red. ‘’He thinks that Magnus is royalty - I’m not disagreeing,’’ said Jace quickly, lifting his hands up. ‘’I think he is very king material, but Alec attacked me too when I said I’ll be voting for him too,’’ he said and Magnus started laughing loudly.

‘’Is he for real?’’ asked Raphael and glanced at Magnus, who was enjoying the attention. Yeah, those two totally belonged together because both of them were over the top. He never thought that the jock was like that too, but he was proven different just now and Magnus could see that Alec’s cheeks were getting redder by a second and he just clicked with his tongue and wrapped his arms around Alec and pulled him away from Jace. 

‘’I think that’s adorable and very sweet of you, Alexander,’’ said Magnus and kissed Alec’s cheek - Alec glowed with pride. ‘’But I do think you should allow people to vote for who they want, angel,’’ said Magnus and Alec whined. ‘’You’re as adorable as ever,’’ said Magnus and winked. Alec cleared his throat and then just kissed Magnus’ lips, slowly pulling away and then he glanced around the others.

‘’See, he thinks it’s cute,’’ said Alec.

‘’Yeah, and annoying,’’ said Raphael.

‘’Raphi, no,’’ hissed Magnus and Alec cracked up. ‘’I didn’t say it’s annoying, don’t you let the grumpy one over there ruin your mood,’’ said Magnus and then winked. ‘’Besides, you’re my knight, so it’s only appropriate for you to wish the best for me, isn’t that right?’’ asked Magnus and Alec nodded.

‘’Yes, I protect,’’ said Alec and then looked at Underhill, who flinched. Now what? ‘’Sorry, my man,’’ said Alec and then shook his head. ‘’I get carried away when it comes to Magnus,’’ he said and Underhill gave him a little smile. 

‘’I know how it is,’’ said the curly blonde, giving him an understanding look and Alec perked up -  _ he did, how?  _ Underhill quickly looked away because Alec’s look of suspicion told him that he was onto something and he just cleared his throat and glanced to the line of students waiting for the food. It was getting shorter, so it was the right time to go and grab something to eat. ‘’How about we go grab lunch now, huh?’’ asked Underhill, but Alec just grinned -  _ yeah, no, first he was going to tell him things!  _

‘’Lunch will wait,’’ said Alec and then rubbed his palms together. ‘’Now tell me, why do I have a feeling that you’ve met someone?’’ asked Underhill and looked around, Jace whistling and he then just pressed his lips together. In the end he just nodded and Alec’s eyes were glowing. He was happy for his friend and he just waggled his eyebrows. ‘’So, who is it? Anyone we know?’’ he asked and Underhill just shook his head and Alec pouted. Not fair! Magnus was cackling along - since when did Alec like to gossip so much? Ah, not exactly gossip, but-

‘’No, he doesn’t go to our school,’’ said Underhill and then looked down. ‘’You know how I was failing French, but then it suddenly got better?’’ asked Underhill and Alec nodded. ‘’Ah, there you see, that’s the reason. I’ve gotten a tutor and he’s hot as hell,’’ he said and there was again whistling being heard around the table and Underhill pressed his lips together and Alec smiled. There, he was glad that his friend found someone. ‘’He’s same age as us, but he’s not going to our school,’’ said Underhill and Alec hummed.

‘’Is he coming to the prom with you?’’ asked Alec and Underhill laughed it off.

‘’As if,’’ said Underhill.

‘’You didn’t ask him, did you?’’ asked Alec and Underhill shook his head. 

"I'm working on it," said Underhill and then made a little pause. Alec had many more questions but decided not to ask as he knew how it was when you didn't want to share too many details. Still, he wished his friend good luck and he hoped that he was going to meet this mystery boyfriend of his!

* * *

‘’Alexander,’’ whispered Magnus, laying on top of Alec, who was smiling as he was looking up at him, his cheeks red, eyes locked with Magnus’ and he shuddered, licking across his lower lip and Magnus gently cupped his face and leaned down to press a kiss upon his lips again. ‘’You’re beautiful,’’ said Magnus softly and Alec gave him another shy smile and he then looked away. Magnus quickly made sure that Alec was again looking at him and Alec nuzzled into the soft touch against his cheek and he bit his lip. ‘’You-you are completely sure?’’ asked Magnus softy and Alec nodded.

‘’Y-yeah,’’ muttered Alec and then tried to stop his heart from beating too fast, but it was no use. It was his first time and it was with Magnus, so that was why he couldn’t calm down at all, but he knew that he could trust Magnus and he shuddered softly when he felt Magnus reaching down and he titled his head to the side a little bit and then dragged his tongue over his lower lip and Magnus gave him a little smile and then just pressed another kiss over his nose and Alec cutely pouted. 

They were in Magnus’ room - yes, they were skipping school, but they… just couldn’t wait anymore and Alec was finally ready. He’s been thinking about for a long time now and he couldn’t wait anymore. As for Magnus - he was ready a long time ago and he smiled when he saw Alec’s eyes searching for his again. Feeling his own heart fasten, he bit his lip and then he leaned down again, making sure that Alec was okay. Alec liked the feel of their naked bodies pressing again each other - the closeness and warmth of Magnus next to him made him just so  _ happy _ and he shuddered again.

‘’I’ll go slow,’’ muttered Magnus and Alec blinked a few times and then nodded, feeling Magnus’ fingers in his hair as the other leaned down, kissing him again. Alec slipped his tongue inside of Magnus’ mouth, deepening their kiss, making Magnus softly moan into their kiss and both of them chuckled as Magnus pulled back and then pressed his forehead up against Alec’s.  _ Gosh, Alexander was stunning.  _ The way his cheeks were red and the way he was breathing fast and uneven.

‘’I just, um,’’ said Alec and Magnus quickly looked up. ‘’I don’t really know what to do to-to make you feel good too,’’ whispered Alec and then bit his lip. He was doing  _ research,  _ but at the same time he didn’t really know for sure what Magnus liked and he then held in his breath. ‘’I don’t know what I’m doing, I-’’ stammered Alec, his voice trailing off and Magnus just shook his head and then placed a kiss just above his eyebrow.

‘’Don’t fill your head with useless worries,’’ said Magnus softly and Alec shuddered, nodding. ‘’This is about your first experience and I’ll make sure you enjoy it to the fullest,’’ said Magnus, placing his lips upon Alec’s neck and the jock leaned his head to the side and took in a deep breath. ‘’I’ll go slow,’’ he breathed out, his hot breath tickling Alec’s neck and he huffed, nodding again, swallowing thickly and Magnus smiled. He was just so happy, he wanted to make Alec feel good.  _ To show him how much he loved him.  _ ‘’If there’s something that doesn’t feel good or you feel too nervous about tell me,’’ said Magnus and Alec nodded again.

‘’You’re amazing,’’ said Alec shyly and Magnus smiled and shook his head because that wasn’t about being amazing. ‘’I just… you take the lead and I’ll follow,’’ said Alec shyly and Magnus gave him a little wink and he nodded. They’ve discussed it many times before how it was going to go, so Alec knew everything that Magnus was going to do. A part of him couldn’t wait to skip to the  _ good _ part, but the other part of him was more than happy about the fact that Magnus was taking it slow. Fuck, he loved him so much and he just hoped that he wasn’t going to fuck something up because that would be devastating for him. 

Luckily, Alec was a fast learner - he followed Magnus’ lead, his hands exploring hungrily Magnus’ body, up and down his strong arms, feeling feverish underneath Magnus and he was shaking all over, but it felt good. Every place that Magnus touched, every place that he kissed felt good and Alec felt as if he was about to burst and he was clinging onto Magnus when things got too much. His senses were heightened, his whole body too sensitive, digging his nails into Magnus’ back as their bodies moved as one. 

Magnus never stopped making sure that Alexander was okay. He spent a long time preparing Alexander and Alec was doing so well - he made sure to tell him along the way, never stopping repeating just how amazing Alexander was for him. Alec loved being praised and after a certain point all that Alec’s brain was muster to come up was  _ Magnus, I love you, I love you. Love you so much.  _ He kept repeating it over and over again. He never felt so love before in his entire life and it was almost too much, holding onto Magnus’ tightly as they were both flying high above the sky. 

After Alec came back to Earth and was laying on the bed under the covers, staring up in the ceiling, still drunk on pleasure, he giggled and Magnus quickly rolled onto his side, trying to make sure that Alec was okay. From the looks of it, Alec looked more than just okay and a wide smile spread across Magnus’ lips. ‘’Oh wow,’’ said Alec, still giggling and Magnus hid his face under blankets.  _ He did such a good job?  _ ‘’I mean oh my God,’’ he said and then looked over at Magnus, who was laughing as well. ‘’That… that… how did you know how to do that?!’’ asked Alec and Magnus was shaking from laughter. ‘’I mean… just I mean, I’m not… able to really speak at this point, but oh my Go-’’ he started, Magnus quickly interrupting by kissing his lips and Alec nodded. Yep, that was probably for the best.

‘’Alexander, you’re blabbering,’’ said Magnus, but was overjoyed to see that Alec enjoyed it.  _ Making love was amazing.  _

‘’You’ve melted my brain,’’ said Alec.

‘’I-’’

‘’This… I never felt it could be this amazing,’’ carried on Alec. ‘’It was good for you too?’’ asked Alec and Magnus nodded, smiling.

‘’I felt amazing,’’ said Magnus and Alec smiled shyly and then he curled up next to Magnus and Magnus kissed him softly, Alec smiling into their kiss and he then happily sighed after Magnus pulled back. Alec reached out for Magnus’ hand and linked their fingers together, kissing Magnus’ fingers and the other chuckled. ‘’ _ Aku cinta kamu _ ,’’ whispered Magnus and Alec looked up. 

‘’Oh!’’ said Alec and then his heart started beating faster. Magnus never- ‘’I… what does it mean?’’ asked Alec and Magnus sighed happily.

‘’It’s I love you in Indonesian,’’ said Magnus and Alec’s heart  _ melted.  _

‘’I love you too,’’ muttered Alec and then hugged Magnus, who grinned and then sighed. 

_ He never knew he could feel this happy either.  _


	16. Chapter 16

Magnus parked the car in front of Alec’s house and then took in a deep breath and smiled. It was finally the big day - the prom was there and he was just looking forward to finally pick up Alec. The curiosity was killing him, he couldn’t wait to see what kind of an outfit Alec came up with it. And at the same time he couldn’t wish for Alec to finally see his because he also put a lot of work into it. He was wearing black trousers, a dark navy blue coat with silver embroidered on it and of course he didn’t forget very special boots. They matched his coat and to top it all off, he even had a sword and a crown with him, grinning happily. He wanted to add more, but Raphael managed to talk him out of it - after all it was just a prom and not a costume party, but he liked how he looked it his clothes and he grinned. Of course he didn’t forget to add a lot of pieces of jewelry and makeup!  _ Alec was going to love what he was going to see!  _ And all of the others were going to be so jealous once the two of them were going to show up at the prom. He made sure of it, biting his lip and he stepped out of his car.

_ His father’s car.  _ Yes, he managed to finally talk Asmodeus into lending him his car. Asmodeus had troubles with parting from his precious car, but since this was a special moment in his son’s life, he decided to lend it to him after Magnus made sure he promised more than ten times that he was going to keep it safe.  _ Of course he was going to keep it safe!  _ He just wanted to make a good impression - after all, he was there to pick up his  _ archer.  _ Magnus drooled because he couldn’t wait to see Alec - he was going to come with his bow! It was going to be amazing and he grinned when he looked to the side and could see Alec peeking through the window of their living room.  _ He was so precious.  _ As soon as Alec saw that Magnus noticed him, he quickly stopped spying on his and he hurried over to the front door.

Alec was already waiting by the front door, biting into his lip and he then rubbed his palms together. He took a little glance at Magnus through the window, but couldn’t really see him well and he just took in a deep breath and nodded. Oh, this was going to be so much fun and he then glanced around and noticed that his mom and dad were there, very typical of them. His dad gave Simon quite the talk when he came to pick Izzy up and Alec rolled his eyes - gosh, he hoped that he wasn’t going to give one to Magnus as well! Izzy wasn’t a senior yet, but Simon was and since they were dating of course she decided to go with him. And luckily next year, they were going to be able to repeat the prom when it was going to be Izzy’s turn to graduate! And as for Jace - he was already gone too - he went to pick up Clary at her house and they were already all probably waiting for them at the school already. Magnus was running a bit late, but Alec didn’t really mind it and his heart leaped up to his throat when he straightened his clothes.

“Mom, I look fine, right?” asked Alec and Maryse just nodded, going over to her son and she placed her hands on top of his shoulders and sighed in a very dramatic manner. Alec could have sworn that he saw her mom’s eyes getting even a little bit misty and he arched a brow. “Mom?” he asked and Maryse finally snapped out of it - she was just thinking about everything. Her babies were growing up and she was just trying to adjust the best way that she could, but it was… it was a lot and she just took in a deep breath.

“You look so handsome,” said Maryse and Alec sheepishly smiled.  _ Good, he was glad to hear that!  _ He then glanced over to his brother, who was stuffing his face with the cereal and he just shook his head. He didn’t get many things, but the thing that he didn’t get the most was why everyone was making such a big deal out of the prom. It was just boring and just another school dance. When he was going to be Alec’s age he wasn’t going to one because it was too much work. The boy has already decided, but he was happy that his siblings were enjoying it. Still, he was glad that it was soon all going to be over because - it was getting annoying. All they could talk about was that stupid prom thing, you couldn’t even have a normal conversation with them anymore!

“I just don’t get why are you going dressed like this,” commented the boy and Alec rolled his eyes and then crossed his arms on top of his chest and just raised his head above and shook his head.

“You’re still too young to understand,” said Alec and Max snorted by the side. “No, no, it’s true. You don’t get the importance of the prom, the spirit of it all, you’re still too young to understand. Once you’ll be older and you’ll have someone that you’ll like - you will get it,” said Alec and Max flushed - no he was never going to be boy or girl crazy like his brothers and sister were! No way!

“I won’t be going to prom, proms suck,” said Max and Alec stuck his tongue out.

“Yeah, we’ll see if you’re still of a same opinion in a few years,” snorted Alec and then Magnus finally rang the bell. He had to be standing out there for quite a while and he was! Magnus was plucking up the courage because even though that wasn’t the first time he was there to pick Alec up, it was  _ different _ . He couldn’t even describe it, but this was a big thing for all of them and as soon as the doorbell rang, Robert stepped in front of the door and Alec’s jaw dropped.  _ No, no, no, he was doing the same thing as he was doing with Izzy! It wasn’t fair!  _ He was a year older, he didn’t need-

Magnus was a little bit surprised when he saw Robert opening the door, but he didn’t flinch and he just smiled. “Good evening, Robert,” said Magnus and when he said the man’s name, he quickly backpaddled because the man didn’t look too impressed. “Mr Lightwood, sir, um, yes,” he said and Alec rolled his eyes in the back because why was his dad insisting on doing this? He wondered if Jace got the same treatment from Clary’s father. “I am here to pick up Alec,” he said and tried looking past Robert.

“Yes,” said Robert and then looked up and down, crossing his arms on top of his chest. “And you know curfew, until you have to bring Alec back?” asked Robert and Alec whined in the back because what kind of a thing was his dad talking about. It was prom, there was no curfew! “It’s until ten, or-”

“ _ Ten?! _ ” shrieked Alec in the back and marched towards his dad, trying to get him out of the way. Maryse stepped to her husband and then gently dragged him back, Magnus already laughing because he didn’t take it seriously. Still, it was kind of intimidating, the man being so protective of his son. Yes, Magnus didn’t take it lightly and he just quickly stopped laughing and then he glanced down. “Mom, tell him that he can’t be serious,” said Alec and looked at the woman. As Alec continued bickering with his dad, Magnus finally took that as a chance to examine Alec’s clothes and boy, he did not disappoint at all.

Alec was wearing black trousers and one of those long white jackets. It was quite tight fitting and Magnus couldn’t stop staring at him, the bow was already waiting at the side and Magnus needed a moment to stop staring so much because Alec’s legs looked so damn yummy. Not to mention that he had quite a low cut on that jacket and he wasn’t wearing anything under it! Oh, he was the naughty archer through and through - he lived up to his name. Magnus snorted at his own thoughts and he stepped closer to his boyfriend, who was still annoyed with his father.

“You can count on me, sir, to treat your son with my utmost respect,” said Magnus and then winked to Alec, who arched his brow. “As his king, it is my duty to bring him back to the hour that you desire and-” started Magnus, trying to kiss up to Robert, who finally cracked and started laughing. Yes, if there was someone that made him lose it so quickly was Magnus and he just shook his head. That boy was way too smart for his age, shaking his head and he just patted his son’s shoulder.

“Enough with the jokes, enjoy yourselves, kids,” said Robert and Alec finally saw that his father was just playin a little joke on them. He huffed under his breath and then he nodded, his mom giving him a little hug and after they said their goodbyes, Alec went outside first, Robert showing Magnus that he was  _ watching him.  _ Magnus gave him thumbs up and Robert just laughed again - yep, too smart for his age. And once outside, Magnus finally got the chance to tell Alec just how much he liked the look.

“Oh, my archer, don’t you look so dashing,” said Magnus and gently tugged Alec by the belt that he had around his jacket and he gave him a little smile. “This is why a surprise indeed,” he said and winked. “Dressed kind of provocative, hmm?” he asked and glanced down Alec’s jacket, trying not to stare too much, but damn.  _ It looked so good on him!  _ Magnus couldn’t not stare and he- Swallowing thickly, he glanced back up and could see the bright flush and smile on Alec’s face. “People will talk, my knight.”

“I don’t see you complaining either, my king,” said Alec and winked back. Magnus arched his brows and whistled softly, leaning up and he kissed Alec softly before he stepped back a little bit and showed over to his car. Alec grinned - it seemed that Magnus finally was able to talk his father into lending him his car. Knowing how much the man loved the thing, he couldn’t even imagine the things that Magnus had to say or promise to get it and he softly laughed as Magnus took his hand.

“The carriage awaits, my Alexander,” said Magnus and Alec laughed.

“You’re way too good in this roleplay,” said Alec as he finally got into the car and Magnus gave him a little wink.

“Years of drama classes and plays finally pay off,” said Magnus and gave him a very confident look. Alec just laughed and then clasped his hands together, taking in a deep breath. Starting up the car, Magnus finally drove them off to the school and Alec’s heart was happily dancing - ah, this was going to be the best evening. Ever!

* * *

‘’You two are finally here, you’re late,’’ said Izzy and grinned. Alec’s hair looked a bit dishevelled and he quickly cleared his throat. He was also looking rather flushed over there and it wasn’t really a secret to anyone there that he and Magnus had just had a little hot makeout session on the car. It was true, Magnus straightened his clothes and then raised his head up and then just bit his lip and sent a little wink to Alec, who was just flushing over at the side and Magnus snorted.

‘’A king is never late, my dear Isabelle,’’ said Magnus and Alec just nodded - Magnus had a point! ‘’Everyone was just here before me, therefore you are all too early,’’ he said and then looked over to his knight, who stepped up to him and wrapped an arm around his waist. ‘’Isn’t that right, my Alexander?’’ asked Magnus and Alec nodded.  _ He liked this roleplay - Magnus was hot as fuck as king. He wished that they could do it more often.  _ Then again nobody said that it couldn’t happen  _ again.  _

‘’That is right, listen to the king, peasants,’’ said Alec and the entire group of friends around them started laughing because Alec was hilarious. He didn’t really know how to speak that  _ fancy _ language that Magnus had it hammered down. But he went straight down to the point and Izzy just rolled his eyes and scooted over to Simon, who was dressed up like a dashing prince. He looked quite nice, actually. ‘’You clean up nice, Lewis,’’ commented Alec and Simon stammered a quick thank you and then glanced down.  _ He got complimented by Alec!  _

‘’Alec, are you hitting on my boyfriend?’’ teased Izzy and Alec’s jaw dropped - no he would never! It was just a compliment. He looked over at Magnus, who sent him a little wink and then he waved it off, telling him that it was completely fine. Still, Alec spent the next ten minutes explaining himself to Magnus and Izzy had to tell him in the end that it was just a joke.  _ Only then Alec let it go!  _

‘’Izzy, my dear, I have to tell you that the look you picked out for Alexander is doing wonders for him, you outdid yourself,’’ whispered Magnus as he and Izzy were waiting their boyfriends to come back as they went over to the tables to get them all something to drink and Izzy just grinned. ‘’I mean it, I can’t keep my eyes off of him,’’ said Magnus and gulped.  _ Or his hands.  _ He couldn’t go out of the car until he had a little feel and a taste of Alexander - not that the archer was complaining at all. He was living out his best life and Izzy hummed and just winked.

‘’You’re welcome,’’ said Izzy and Magnus just nodded as he was drooling again as he was watching over his boyfriend and he just purred. All those buttons, such a low cut… ugh. It was really such a tease and he bit his lip, looking over to the side. Jace and Clary were already on the dance floor, same with Ragnor and Catarina and Magnus grinned, pulling Izzy to the dance floor and they went to join them. It seemed that Simon and Alec were going to take a bit longer as Magnus could see them over at the side and they were just chatting about something. It was good to see them getting along and he spun Izzy around, who was giggling. 

* * *

‘’I never thought I’d ever get such cool friend as you, Alec,’’ said Simon happily and Alec gave him a little look and then he snorted. Maybe he should play a little prank on Simon? He kind of didn’t want to make him feel bad, but at the same time, it was fun playing pranks on Simon and he just grinned and then hummed.

‘’Um, we’re friends? Just what gave you that idea?’’ teased Alec and Simon’s heart fell and he looked down.

‘’Oh,’’ said Simon sadly and then pressed his lips together and he just laughed nervously. ‘’Oh, I just assumed because- never mind. Yes-yes of course it makes sense that-’’ he started, but then Alec started laughing and Simon looked up at him and arched a brow. He blinked a few times and then he finally understood that Alec was just messing around. ‘’You’re just joking,’’ said Simon and then exhaled happily. Alec eventually nodded and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. 

‘’Of course I am, dude, you’re pretty cool,’’ said Alec and Simon’s eyes lit up, way too much for Alec’s liking, but in the end he just laughed and then sighed happily. Right, they were there to get them all something to drink, but as Alec turned around he saw that Izzy and Magnus were having the times of their lives out there in the dance floor and his jaw dropped.  _ Oh, no, if there was anyone that was going to dance with Magnus it was going to be him!  _ Alec nudged Simon, who glanced over at the dance floor and he smiled when he saw Simon and Magnus.

‘’Hey, Alec, where are you dragging me?’’ asked Simon when Alec took his hand and lead him over to the dance floor - weren’t they supposed to be bringing drinks with them?! Alec just shook his head because he could tell what was on Simon’s mind. ‘’No?’’

‘’No, I’m in the mood for dancing,’’ said Alec and Simon chuckled - jealousy? Maybe just a little bit, but he didn’t want Izzy to get the very first dance of the evening with Magnus and he just spun around very clumsily, wrapped his arms around Magnus and stole him from Izzy, who was already laughing in the background, but was soon approached by Simon and they danced together. Alec pulled Magnus closer and he wore a little pout on his lip, which Magnus quickly kissed back, but Alec was still frowning. ‘’Mine,’’ said Alec and Magnus smiled.

‘’Jealous?’’

‘’No,’’ said Alec. ‘’But,’’ he said. ‘’I’m gonna get the first dance of the evening with you,’’ said Alec and Magnus just wrapped his arms around Alec’s neck and then pressed their foreheads together.  _ Drinks could wait for a little longer, was what he decided.  _ Magnus was laughing because he could tell that Alec was jealous, it was so obvious, it was written all over his face, but the knight was never going to admit it. Alexander was always so adorable even when he was jealous and Magnus pressed another kiss upon his lips.

‘’No need to be jealous,’’ said Magnus and then hummed happily. Alec’s cheeks were a little bit red and he grinned. ‘’I do promise that this dance and all of the future ones will always belong to you,’’ said Magnus and Alec’s cheeks even reddened. That sounded so cheesy, but at the same time he liked the sound of that.  _ He was too cheesy as well!  _ ‘’I promise to continue dancing forever with you, from now on until and for the eternity,’’ said Magnus and knew it himself that it was too cheesy even for himself. 

‘’Cheesy,’’ said Alec. Magnus giggled.

‘’I know, that was lame,’’ he commented and Alec quickly shook his head. He never said that it was lame!

‘’No, I didn’t say that,’’ said Alec shyly and Magnus grinned. ‘’I, um, I like cheesy stuff, my king,’’ said Alec, trying to get into the spirit of the theme of the prom and Magnus winked. ‘’I would be honoured if you continue dancing only with me forever,’’ he said and even though he was cringing on the inside, he was also happy. There was so much more than just that dancing and both of them knew it.  _ Being together with Magnus forever would be more than perfect!  _ He cleared his throat and Magnus just smiled and laughed.

‘’Cheesy,’’ teased him back Magnus. 

‘’Though, you’ll have to guide me,’’ said Alec and Magnus happily nodded because he would be more than happy to teach Alec things. Honestly they were learning a lot from each other just by being next to each other and Magnus just smiled. ‘’No, I mean it quite literally,’’ said Alec and looked around. ‘’I can’t dance for shit,’’ he said and Magnus only realised it then that they haven’t been really dancing. They were just standing in the middle of the dance floor among the other couples and he just started laughing loudly.

‘’I love you,’’ breathed Magnus out because that was literally the only thing that he could say at the moment because he was just so- ‘’I love you so much, never change, I beg you,’’ said Magnus and Alec chuckled and kissed Magnus again.

‘’I love you too.’’

* * *

‘’Underhill, hey, Underhill, over here,’’ cheered Alec. Alec and the others were seated around their table, happily chatting and having the times of their lives. Alec was loving the prom so far. He stumbled upon Raj and his date and both of them looked pretty miserable, especially the girl. Alec felt bad for her because she was looking bored as hell. Surprisingly, Raj only turned around and didn’t even bother him.  _ Alec was pretty content with himself!  _ It was the best feeling ever and he then looked over to his boyfriend.  _ The king and the queen of prom were soon going to be announced and Alec was hoping that it was going to be Magnus.  _

Alec pouted because he couldn’t get his friend’s attention, but then again the music was pretty loud playing in there and after a few more tries of yelling, Underhill managed to finally look into his direction.  _ And it seemed that Underhill didn’t come alone after all!  _ Alec never asked about that mystery French tutor anymore, but it seemed to have worked out, at least Alec was assuming that it did and he nudged Magnus’ side, who glanced over to Underhill and he whistled when he saw Underhill’s date.

Underhill and his date decided to join the others. The table was already pretty packed, but Alec managed to squeeze two more chairs around it.  _ They needed all to sit around the same table!  _ It was a must! Underhill looked pretty content with himself and he sat down next to the others, introducing his date to everyone -  _ Marcel!  _ Alec grinned and then leaned over to Underhill, asking not really too quietly as the entire table was able to hear him. ‘’The hot French tutor?’’ asked Alec and Underhill quickly stepped on his foot underneath the table and Alec yelped. ‘’Hey, that hurt!’’ he said and Magnus was cackling next to him. But it seemed that the date didn’t mind the attention either. 

‘’Can you please not?’’ whined Underhill and pressed his lips together. ‘’Can’t you keep it down, not in front of him,’’ he said through his teeth and then glanced over to Marcel and smiled. ‘’I’m sorry, he-’’

‘’You must be Alec,’’ said Marcel and shook Alec’s hand. The jock happily nodded - ah, so he has heard about him! He then narrowed his eyes and then glanced over to his friend and hummed.  _ In what way did he speak of him?!  _ Hmm. Alec wasn’t so sure anymore and he kept his eyes on Underhill a little bit longer and Magnus pulled on his hand.

‘’Alexander?’’

‘’Nothing,’’ mumbled Alec and then leaned back to his boyfriend and sighed happily. There, all of them were there and having a good time. ‘’It’s nice you could join us,’’ said Alec, speaking to Marcel and the other just nodded, holding onto Underhill’s hand and the blonde looked pretty content with himself. They looked happy, Alec sighed happily and then looked around the room. Everyone was slowly getting ready for the announcement of the king and queen of prom and Alec felt his excitement growing as they all continued chatting, their conversation mostly shifting towards Underhill and his new boyfriend, all of them slowly getting to know him a little bit better. 

‘’Ready to lose?’’ asked Jace suddenly and Alec turned to him - was he speaking to him? ‘’I mean the position of the prom king,’’ he said and waggled his eyebrows. ‘’Clary and I have the title in the bag so to speak already. I mean look at us, we’re-’’

‘’Jace, stop being so arrogant,’’ deadpanned Clary and he quickly apologised.

‘’Bold of you to assume you’ll win, Jace,’’ said Izzy and Alec nodded.

‘’Yeah, you have no chance,’’ said Alec and then looked at Magnus. ‘’I mean you’re literally running up against Magnus?’’ he said as if that was the most obvious thing, but then he pulled himself back a little bit and made a little pause. 

‘’Darling, there’s no losers, really,’’ said Magnus and Alec pressed his lips together.

‘’Right, but my point still stands,’’ said Alec. ‘’You’ll win,’’ he said and Magnus just shook his head, chuckled and then pulled Alec in for another kiss. 

* * *

The big moment was finally there - the prom queen was already called up to the stage. It was Clary and now it was the time to find out who the king was going to be! Keeping his fingers crossed, Alec kept chanting, hoping that it was going to be Magnus. ‘’ _ Magnus, let it be Magnus. I mean Magnus is the only rational choice. Nobody else can win _ ,’’ kept Alec chanting over and over again. Magnus was laughing as were Catarina and Ragnor. And finally the winner was announced and it was not Magnus-

‘’Jace!’’ said the announcer and Alec looked up.

‘’J...J…  _ what?! _ ’’ shrieked Alec and stood up. ‘’No, no, this is not possible. I demand a recount of votes, I mean this can’t be, it’s been a mistake, it-’’ he started talking out loud and some of the others were laughing next to their tables. Magnus wanted to just… he grabbed Alec’s hand and made him sit back down because it was kind of too much. Jace, on the other hand, didn’t even dare to go up on the stage to claim his title. Slowly he managed to stand up and he quickly ran up the stage, trying to go back down as soon as it was possible.  _ Alec looked furious and he didn’t even do anything!  _

‘’Alexander, it’s okay,’’ said Magnus, who didn’t even care about winning. ‘’I mean I didn’t want to win because it’s not… I don’t want to really be battling against you, it’s not fun if it’s just one winner among the two of us,’’ said Magnus and then tried to cheer Alec up. ‘’It’s just a silly-’’

‘’The school doesn’t appreciate you,’’ said Alec and looked around. ‘’ _ Traitors!’’ _

‘’Alexander, please, calm down,’’ whispered Magnus. Underhill’s boyfriend was having the time of his life - he never knew that proms could be this fun and he was just laughing. His boyfriend had amazing friends! Alec was huffing and puffing with anger, finally managing to keep his anger under control, but still how dared they?!

‘’ _ And because we’ve expected this kind of reaction from Lightwood, _ ’’ said the announcer up at the stage and Alec glared at them. Oh, he knew those two, they were in a different class, but he didn’t trust them. At least not anymore. ‘’ _ So, because of that we’ve prepared a special title just for Magnus and him,’’ _ carried on the announcer and Alec narrowed his eyes. 

‘’ _ Hurry up, he’s not too amused, _ ’’ said the other into the microphone. ‘’ _ Just say what it is, I’m scared of him _ ,’’ she said, but it was a joke obviously. Still, Alec kept glaring at them until they told the rest of them what this special title was. 

‘’ _ The title of the best royal couple goes to Magnus and Alec,’’ _ said the other quickly. ‘’ _ Please come up on the stage and claim your spot, _ ’’ he said and Alec noticed that there were two more crowns waiting for them too and he hummed. Not bad, as long as Magnus was appreciated. Magnus was speechless and laughing at the same time because Alec really did tetorise around the school so much that the students running the whole thing really did go ahead and create a whole special position just for the two of them.  _ Bless them and bless Alec!  _

‘’Alec, we both win,’’ said Magnus standing up and he handed his hand over to Alec, ho happily took wit and he happily gave him a long, long kiss before the two finally walked up there on the stage  _ and claimed their crowns.  _ Everyone in there cheered for the winners and Alec gave Magnus a victory kiss as well, kissing him happily, wrapping his arms around him, spinning them around and then he pressed their foreheads together.

‘’Yes, we win,’’ said Alec happily and Magnus grinned.

‘’You’re so, so adorable, dork,’’ said Magnus and couldn’t stop smiling. Really was the most fun he ever had and he just took in a deep breath. So, what followed next was the king and queen dance? That year it was king, queen  _ and the royal couple dance!  _ Alec was glad, even though he couldn’t dance, it didn’t really matter to him. The music started playing, Jace leading Clary down to the dance floor and students were glancing over them. Alec decided to do the same thing and he offered Magnus his hand.

‘’Now, would you care to dance, my king?’’ asked Alec and Magnus giggled and took Alec’s hand and then just nodded. 

‘’Of course, my dear knight,’’ said Magnus and spun around, pulling Alexander closer and they both laughed, happily smiling. Alec didn’t really know what he was doing, but he started swaying to the music.  _ Luckily it was slow.  _ ‘’Getting better at dancing, I see,’’ teased Magnus and Alec just laughed.

‘’Yeah, right,’’ he said and then just happily sighed, looking into Mangus’ eyes. They still made his heart beat so fast and he just… he couldn’t believe how far he has come in that year. He could still remember him slipping those little love quotes inside of Magnus’ locker, hoping that nobody was going to notice him - it was really a long way. He grew so much and it was everything because of Magnus. He was so thankful for everything that he has done for him. He really- Alec cleared his throat and Magnus looked up. Alec looked a little bit emotional? 

‘’Hey, you okay?’’

‘’Yep,’’ said Alec. ‘’Just thinking how much I love you,’’ said Alec and Magnus’ heart melted.

‘’Aw, my little hopeless romantic you,’’ said Magnus and cupped his face, looking around. The others joined in the dance as well and he just smiled, looking back at Alexander, who was still biting on his lip. ‘’I love you too,’’ said Magnus again and Alec nodded. Then he remembered the first, the very first love quote that he scribbled on a little note and he sighed happily and bit his lip. 

‘ _ ’Love recognises no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope _ ,’’ whispered Alec and then swallowed thickly, looking into Magnus’ eyes again, wondering if Magnus still remembered it. His heart beating hard and fast, Magnus glanced down and that got him right into the heart. Of course he remembered.

‘’The very first quote you sent to me,’’ said Magnus softly.

‘’You remember,’’ said Alec happily.

‘’Of course I remember,’’ said Magnus and made a little pause. That made him kind of emotional as well. And the quote was so very, very true. ‘’I remember all of them,’’ he said and Alec smiled as well, cupping Magnus’ face and he lifted it up, kissing him softly and as they pulled back Magnus sniffled, Alec panicked.

‘’Magnus!’’

‘’I’m fine, it’s your fault,’’ said Magnus and puffed his cheeks, laughing softly and he just shook his head. ‘’You just had to bring it up, huh,’’ said Magnus and Alec bit his lip.

‘’Sorry.’’

‘’Don’t be,’’ said Magnus happily. ‘’And how right it is, huh? The quote,’’ said Magnus and Alec nodded. ‘’I’m really so proud of you, Alexander, you really fought for what you wanted and that is happiness,’’ he said and Alec nodded again. ‘’So proud.’’

‘’Couldn’t have done it without you,’’ said Alec and pulled Magnus closer. ‘’I suppose now we’ve reached our destination?’’ he asked and Magnus laughed softly, shaking his head. No? Alec cocked his head to the side and he hummed.

‘’Our journey has just begun, Alexander,’’ said Magnus and Alec smiled.  _ Our journey,  _ he liked the sound of that. ‘’My nervous archer,’’ teased Magnus again and Alec just sheepishly smiled and looked down. ‘’Something tells me that our journey is going to be pretty fun,’’ he said, winking and Alec bit his lip, somehow feeling misty-eyed as well and he nodded, puffing his cheeks and he pressed their lips together again, embracing Magnus in a tight hug and he nodded again.

Magnus’ hand was travelling up and down his back, calming him down and they just both smiled as Alec pulled back and they pressed their foreheads together again. The music changed, the beat was faster, Magnus spinning Alec quickly around and Alec was laughing. Yes, their journey was going to be pretty fun and he just laughed again.

Things were going to be awesome indeed because their love knew no boundaries.   


* * *

_Quote by Maya Angelou_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, my God, I can't believe that we've reached the end. I must say that this is one of my faves one that I've written so far. It's really dear to me, I've loved writing it all the way through and I really did pour my soul into it. Having so many of you read and support the story has made the journey even more special to me and I just want to thank you all for all of your kudos and lovely comments, they definitely helped me stay motivated.   
> It was hard writing the last chapter, because it's hard to say goodbye, but at the same time, it did feel like a good place to end the story. Love the boys being so happy, they truly do deserve the world <3\. And I may or may not be crying right now xD  
> Again thank you so much everyone.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :)


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